Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development has submitted the final proposal of the Law on the electricity market to the parliamentary procedure.
The law prescribes common rules for the production, transmission, distribution and storage of energy and electricity supply, together with provisions on consumer protection, in order to create an integrated, competitive, flexible, fair and transparent electricity market.
The Law lays down rules relating to the organization and functioning of the electricity sector of the Republic of Croatia, in particular rules on strengthening and protecting end customers, open access to the integrated electricity market, third party access to electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure, requirements for unbundling and transmission rules, independence of the regulatory bodies. The law seeks to ensure acceptable and transparent energy prices and costs for end customers, a high degree of security of supply and a smooth transition to a sustainable, low-carbon energy system.
The adoption of this law is a precondition, among other things, for the further development of renewable energy sources, and now it is expected that the Government will put the new Law on Renewables into procedure, so that the first tender for a premium model for large-scale facilities can be announced. In the future, significant investments will be needed in the electricity network, which will enable it to be able to withstand 1,500 MW from new renewable sources by 2026, namely doubling of investments of HEP as the distribution system operator and Croatian transmission system operator HOPS.