Moldova's electricity market will become more organized, streamlined, transparent and linked to European markets.
These are the main provisions of the amendments to the Law on Electricity, approved by the government at a meeting on Wednesday on the initiative of the Energy Ministry. According to the specialized department, in particular, the law proposes to include new articles concerning the criteria for determining the electricity market operator (electricity exchange). This will make it possible to organize the next day market, intraday market, centralized market of bilateral contracts, and in the future it will ensure the connection of the local electricity market with similar markets integrated at the European level. Another package of amendments transposes into national legislation the European standards regarding the integrity and transparency of the electricity market, as well as the prevention of possible manipulation of the electricity market, so that when abuses by electricity market participants are detected, the regulator will be able to apply sanctions appropriate to the identified violation and the damage caused. To this end, the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) will be granted additional powers to monitor, investigate and punish wholesale electricity market participants that commit abuses and misconduct. The amendments also regulate the identification and management of possible exceptional situations in the electricity sector. Thus, the regulator will be able to intervene promptly to detect and eliminate any dysfunctions, mitigating their consequences. According to the Energy Ministry, once the new amendments to the Electricity Law are approved, ANRE will have the following tools at its disposal: temporary suspension of the relevant market until its dysfunction is eliminated; limitation or temporary prohibition of electricity exports; establishing the obligation of the public service to sell electricity in volumes and at regulated prices; establishing the obligation of the public service to provide the public service for the centralized purchase of electricity needed by universal service providers or supply of last resort to system operators by auction or direct negotiation; obliging one or more electricity producers to participate in the balancing electricity market and the system services market, or to participate in the balancing electricity market or in the system services market or in the system services market or in the system services market; and establishing the obligation of the public service to provide the centralized purchase of electricity needed by universal service providers or supply of last resort to system operators by auction or direct negotiation; obliging one or more electricity producers to participate in the electricity balancing market and system services market or to provide balancing services and system services in volumes and at regulated prices. Some of these provisions are governed by the provisions of the Commission for Emergency Situations and will thus be incorporated into the basic law. As the Ministry of Energy emphasizes, the purpose of the proposed changes to the law is to assure consumers and other market participants that they can trust the integrity of the electricity market, that prices set in wholesale electricity markets reflect the balance between supply and demand, and that profits cannot be made through market abuse. // 08.11.2023 – InfoMarket
