Croatia is preparing a broad revision of its electricity-market legislation that would address delayed renewable projects while introducing new rules for grid connections, energy sharing, retail contracts and long-term power-market instruments.
One of the most immediate problems concerns projects held up by uncertainty over connection regulation. Regulator HERA only established the unit grid-connection fee in May following a prolonged delay that prevented some developers from completing connection agreements.
According to the Croatian Renewable Energy Sources Association, 16 energy approvals representing 711 MW were due to expire by the end of August. The proposed legislation would protect projects from losing approvals where the delay resulted from regulatory circumstances beyond developers’ control.
For projects affected specifically by the absence of the connection fee, relevant deadlines would start from the date HERA adopted its decision. Developers whose approvals had already expired for the same reason would be allowed to apply again. Administrative delays in spatial planning or construction permitting could also justify extensions.
The proposed amendments go beyond transitional relief. Distribution operators would have to publish clearer information on available connection capacity and use transparent and non-discriminatory procedures. Existing producer connection agreements without final completion deadlines would have to be concluded within four years of the revised law entering into force.
The reform would also introduce electricity sharing, allowing renewable generation including surplus rooftop solar to be distributed between consumers and within residential communities. Customers would gain access to a broader range of contracts, including fixed-term, fixed-price products and dynamic tariffs linked to wholesale prices.
Wholesale-market provisions would encourage greater use of power purchase agreements and two-way contracts for difference, while supplier risk-management obligations and national resource-adequacy assessments would become part of the framework.
The proposed changes would therefore do more than rescue a group of delayed renewable projects. They would move Croatia toward a market structure in which grid capacity, long-term contracting, consumer flexibility and security of supply are treated as interconnected elements of renewable-market development.
