10 july 2019 • Views 4932
Although Moldova does not have interoperable energy systems and the interconnection project is still in development, we could say that at least legally we are on the brink of becoming a country with a European certified electricity transmission system operator (TSO).
On June 5, 2019, the Administration Council of the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) has approved the Decision regarding the preliminary certification of the electricity TSO Î.S. "Moldelectrica".
What does this procedure mean and what are the advantages
Since the Republic of Moldova joined the Treaty of establishing the Energy Community in 2010, it had received the benefits of all the guaranteed rights of the contracting parties, but at the same time it became a subject to all the obligations imposed by the treaty.
Therefore, the implementation of the acquis communautaire for energy was a basic condition in the process of joining the Energy Community. This process also required the approval of certain normative acts by the authorities that were meant to transpose the Energy Community legislation into the national legislation, taking into account the specifics of the internal market.
Transposing and implementing the European legislation is meant to: improve the operational efficiency in the national energy sectors following their ongoing integration with the European Community energy markets; develop a unique cross-border electricity transmission mechanism; supervise the security measures in place; and create an efficient operational mechanism for the electric market networks.
Today we are at the stage of implementing the European directives while patiently waiting to achieve the objectives set by the Republic of Moldova when joining the Energy Community. This is why at the moment the Agency pays more attention to the process of supervising the implementation of the provisions of the European directives by the license holders, offering them all the necessary support.
The recent provisional certification procedure of the electricity TSO was quite complex and lasted over a period of 4 months. During this time the Agency has had regular consultations with the Energy Community Secretariat and applied its recommendations. As soon as the process of provisional certification of TSO Î.S. "Moldelectrica" is finalized, the consultation phase with the Member States of the Energy Community will follow. In this regard the Agency has sent a notification with the relevant documents and information to the Energy Community Secretariat.
The Energy Community endorsement mechanism for the Moldovan TSO certification, ensures on one hand a maximum decision-making transparency with regards to the Agency, and on the other hand it provides the highest level of assurance that the TSO meets all the certification requirements, and guarantees its decisional and functional independence in relation to other licensees, producers or suppliers of electricity and natural gas.
As a result of the TSO Î.S. "Moldelectrica" efforts in the process of finalizing the certification procedure stages, the company has confirmed the application in its activity of the energy community and national legislation, proving thus its potential of becoming a member of the European family of certified TSOs.
Î.S."Moldelectrica" is conducting the activity of electricity transmission using high voltage electric networks and performs the operational management of the electricity system at the Central Dispatch Service level.