Hidroelectrica and Nuclearelectrica are not allowed to perform direct electricity exports to EU markets due to the Energy regulator ANRE decision. Producers are complaining that power traders like Alpiq, as intermediaries, are damaging earnings of producers as ANRE indirectly supports the traders.
Hidoelectrica and Nuclearelectrica are the cheapest energy producers in Romania, so they should sell electricity in the country and not to export, said on Tuesday Niculae Havrileţ, president of the National Authority for Energy Regulation (ANRE).
On the energy conference organized by ANRE and Agerpress that ANRE is blocking the exports of energy of Hidroelectrica and Nuclearelectrica, through a misinterpretation of the law. “ANRE has not issued any regulation for the export. But the law is confusing, including the regulations of Competition Council. I agree that we should not set any obstacles to exports. ANRE issued an interpretation of the concept of centralized market, which appears in the law, while European law have concept of organized market “, said Havrileţ.
According to him, the Romanian producers may offer electricity for sale on OPCOM. Hidroelectrica and Nuclearelectrica are the cheapest producer in the country and it would be correct to sell cheap energy in this country as long as these companies have benefited from public investment,” he added.
Energy traders who in the past have pressured Hidroelectrica have now found support at the National Authority for Energy Regulation, since they are the ones that exported energy instead of producers, said on Tuesday Remus Borza, the Euro Insol insolvency administrator of Hidroelectrica.
“In 2012, we switched off ‘smart guys’ from the cheap energy of Hidroelectrica, but the same trading firms are now favored by ANRE, as only they export energy in the past two years, instead of producers of energy,” said Borza. He explained that energy producers are unable to conduct exports due to interpretations that was issued by ANRE on Energy Law.
ANRE interprets the law in a way that producers are obliged to sell all of the power on OPCOM. But the law does not use the word or include PX OPCOM; instead meaning should be that this should be done in a competitive market. Hidroelectrica interpretation is that it can be done in any of the 27 EU market, because otherwise it violates the principle of free movement “, said Borza.
He reminded that in 2014 Romania exported 8.7 TWh and in 2015 almost 11 TWh through traders like Alpiq Romenergie, Alpiq Holding Romindustrie and others. That means roughly that producers have been damaged at least by 20 million euros that would have won if they did these exports by themselfs,” Borza said. Euro Insol official added that Hidroelectrica set up a subsidiary Hidroelectrica Hungary to export. Later, after Hidroelectrica has exported 10 MW, the company was fined the same ANRE for infringements, transmits Serbia-energy.eu
