The draft Law on Energy expands the powers of regulators in the electricity distribution and transmission sectors, and enables cooperation with EU and Energy Community member states, while defining key terms such as energy poverty, active customers and aggregation, the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG) announced.
The representative of the Ministry of Energy, Zvjezdan Vujović, presented today at the session of the Committee of the Association of Energy and Mining of the Chamber of Commerce the key novelties of this law, which, among other things, include the rule on the market operator, the obligation to maintain oil reserves, the expansion of the jurisdiction of regulatory bodies, the regional coordination center, the energy community citizens, a contract with dynamic pricing of electricity and a tool for comparing offers from suppliers.
"The new law expands the powers of the regulator in the electricity distribution and transmission sectors, and enables cooperation with EU and Energy Community member states, while defining key terms such as energy poverty, active customers and aggregation. These changes aim to integrate the Montenegrin market with the EU market and to ensure stable energy supply through the establishment of a fair and competitive market," said Vujović.
As announced by the PKCG, he specifically apostrophized the establishment of the Regional Coordination Center, which is a body in charge of coordinating the activities of transmission system operators in a certain European region in order to improve the safety and coordination of the operation of transmission systems.
He also highlighted the establishment of a smart metering system where the operator of the distribution system is obliged to define the technical requirements for the introduction of this system and carry out an economic assessment of all long-term costs and benefits for the market and individual customer or to define which form of smart metering system is economically justified and profitable in what time frame its distribution is feasible.
During the discussion, the participants in the discussion assessed, among other things, that the text of the Draft should be simplified, by excluding provisions for areas that could be more adequately regulated by secondary legal acts, respecting the interests of the economy and citizens.
The reasoning of the law is not detailed enough, they claim, considering the scope and coverage of the text of the draft. They also believe that the terminology used in the text is not precisely defined, so, for example, they are of the opinion that the term Energy Community of Citizens is presented in the Draft as a kind of commercial organization instead of an association for exercising their rights.
They also believe that the Draft is in conflict with the Law on Mining and that it does not adequately address the issue of coal exploitation for the purpose of producing electricity and heat. Proposals were also heard to include wood mass in the energy balance and accompanying reports, as well as that it is illogical for consumers to pay a return for investments that will not be in operation for a few more years.
Also, the participants in the discussion said that it is not defined who takes the exams to work at gas stations and why a license is needed for fuel sellers, therefore this issue should be further considered. Since there are different octane values of gasoline on the market, businessmen believe that it is necessary to define the concept of the basic product.
They are also of the opinion that the new law burdens the market too much through excise taxes and other levies, and the rules for the market of oil and oil derivatives should be more precisely defined. The definitions of suppliers and the procedures for switching consumers to a new supplier are also unclear, so it is necessary to synchronize and additionally explain the various definitions in the provisions and by-laws.
The President of the Committee, Darko Krivokapić, said that energy has always been the lifeblood of our system, but recently it has been put on the back burner.
"It is the responsibility of all of us to deal with it as best as possible and to work dedicatedly on its improvement", said Krivokapić.
The representatives of the Ministry said that they will pay full attention to all proposals and, in cooperation with other ministries, try to change and improve everything that the economy believes should be included in additional regulations, so that the law is fully defined.
They said that the public discussion lasts until September 16 and invited all those interested to submit their comments and suggestions in written form.
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