Romanian parliament approves law on measures in the field of electricity produced from renewable energy sources

Romanian Parliament adopted by a large majority the legislation on measures in the field of electricity produced from renewable energy sources, according to a press release, issued by the Ministry of Energy, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and Business Environment.

According to the new law, energy producers and economic operators who were not issued individual decisions authorization from the European Commission, within 24 months from the date of accreditation, for reasons beyond their control, may require from the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) a new temporary accreditation to benefit from the number of green certificates provided under article 6, par. (2) of Law No. 220/2008. New temporary accreditation is valid until the European Commission issues the authorization decision.

The law also allows the adjustment, based on a decision of ANRE, of the possible negative differences between the number of received green certificates and the number of due green certificates, according to the individual decision of the European Commission. The implementation mechanism implies issuance for trade of additional green certificates for electricity producers and operators for which the need for regularization is noted, within 24 months from the date of issue of the Commission’s decision.

The normative act introduces a new article according to which the documentation necessary for the individual notification of the support measure to the European Commission, will be drafted only by the operators who develop plants producing electricity from renewable sources with the installed capacity exceeding 250 MW.

A new aspect introduced at the request of the European Commission, refers to the opening of the support scheme for electricity from renewable energy sources to imports from other Member States.

Also, at the request of the European Commission the promotion system through green certificates won’t apply to electricity produced from renewable sources sold at negative prices.

The funding collected following the application of sanctions for noncompliance with the law will be a source of funding for energy efficiency fund aimed at reducing the effects of climate change.

“We want a more fluid energy market by establishing clear rules and simplifying procedures for granting aid”, Andrei Gerea, minister of energy said. He added that the new law supports the producers of electricity from renewable sources. The temporary approval for many economic operators, producers and suppliers of electricity from renewable sources expired, this situation leading to a significant negative impact on their financial situation and to the destabilization of green certificates market. “The new law protects against such situations. The fact that the legislative act allows small producers to conclude bilateral selling/buying contacts, directly negotiated, is an advantage since small amounts of electricity proved difficult to trade on centralized markets involving additional costs”.

Laura Grigore