According to the press release of ACUE – the Federation of Associations of Energy Companies, the immediate measures exacerbate the crisis in the energy sector and make end consumers even more vulnerable.

• The establishment of an average settlement price for electricity suppliers is an unconstitutional provision that contradicts European and national legislation.

• The implementation of new measures cannot be carried out immediately, but only after an interval of at least 30 days. Payment is made “on the go”, every day, and not at the end of the calendar month.

• The support scheme has been extended until August 31, 2023, but there is no budget impact study or guarantees of budget allocations in the documents released by the authorities.

• No immediate solution is proposed to provide the energy needed to operate the distribution networks.

According to the cited source, the changes to GEO 27/2022 in the published form will lead to a significant deterioration in the financial position of economic entities in the field of energy supply and distribution, as they will bear significant financial and economic losses that are not recognized by the method of compensation or the rate of distribution .

Supply and distribution activities are already recording losses of hundreds of millions of euros due to the current legislation. Ignoring real costs contradicts constitutional principles, European and national legislation in this field.

Also, the value of the weighted average estimated price for electricity was set opaquely and below the market prices recorded on trading platforms and highlighted in OPCOM reports.

“The authorities have a complete vision for the evolution of prices on the wholesale electricity market, but they have not shown any calculations to confirm the values ​​included in the new rules. The reality is completely different, and the authorities know what the price level is at – they have already made purchases. ACUE considers this a cynical decision, an expression of disrespect for the business environment,” the Federation says.

“Damages cannot be imposed as an act of law. Any intervention in pricing should not lead to discriminatory additional costs for market participants. Such decisions must be clearly defined, transparent, verifiable and non-discriminatory,” says Daniela Dareban, Executive Director of ACUE.

• After months of accelerated price increases in the wholesale market, during which the authorities passively facilitated, the maximum price for payments for support provided to electricity consumers was suddenly set below the market price and below the cost paid by suppliers.

• The ACUE Federation understands the need to introduce control mechanisms to ensure that inappropriate deviations in the energy sector value chain are avoided, but these measures must be constitutional, aligned with energy legislation and calibrated to the role and challenges of each energy sector.

“With all responsibility, we feel obliged to draw attention to the risk that in the very likely situation where some electricity suppliers find themselves unable to meet their public service obligations, the mechanisms of the supplier of last resort will no longer work effectively and efficiently “, the document also states.

• Acceptance of a very large portfolio of customers by other designated operators will not be possible, given the unstable financial situation of all energy suppliers and the fact that the lack of liquidity will not allow additional purchases of electricity at current wholesale market prices.

“At the same time, for the activity of electricity distribution, the adopted decisions arrive with a delay of 6 months and partially solve the critical situation in which the distribution operators found themselves. For the period for which the decision was made to freeze the tariffs, the decision to capitalize the difference in cost due to ” regulated asset” to be recognized later within 5 years, but no immediate solution is offered to provide the energy needed to operate the distribution networks,” according to the quoted source.

ACUE is calling for a review of the new changes to avoid a complete market lock-up and interruptions in the supply of energy to consumers. This is a new call for accountability and true collaboration between government and industry to jointly analyze data and make sound decisions. The situation is critical, very serious and directly affects the continuity of supply and distribution of services.