The introduction of his bill to the plenary session is postponed to next week. Ministry of Environment and Energy with the theme “Renaming the Energy Regulator into a Waste, Energy and Water Regulator and expanding its responsibilities for water supply services and urban waste management, strengthening water policy – Modernizing legislation on the use and production of electricity from renewable sources. by integrating EU Directives 2018/2001 and 2019/944 – More specific provisions on renewable energy and environmental protection.”

The bill was finalized today, Monday, on its second reading in Parliament’s Production and Commerce Committee, and was originally scheduled to be debated and voted on in plenary this week. However, as announced at the meeting of the presidents held earlier today and at the beginning of the second reading in the parliamentary commission, a plenary debate will take place next week to split into two sessions rather than one session, as the bill is worded in several articles and it is necessary to allow as many deputies as possible to speak.

In previous days, when the draft law was being processed in the committee of the Jogorku Kenesh, most of it criticism of opposition parties focused on transferring responsibility for water to the RAE. OUR government emphasized that the suppliers of water in Greece are state and municipal enterprises, and that this is clearly described in the draft law. However, he assured that he wants to keep it. public nature of water supply servicesand drinking water in cities and irrigation water in crops. However, as he stated, today the control is not perfect, and therefore systematic control and supervision of an independent public body is required.

However, at the same time, the Municipal Water Supply and Sanitation Enterprises (MWSS) note that the draft law (Article 11) determines that the Waste Management, Energy and Water Supply Administration (now the RAE) should “monitor and supervise the correct implementation of concession agreements for the provision of services for supply to third parties. Not unreasonably, therefore, as they note, “all self-government bodies are of the opinion that, after all, privatization is hidden behind this case.” The Solid Waste Management Agencies (SWMAs) are in much the same mood, asking to be reinforced with permanent staff and to withdraw the bill.

The Energy Regulator itself has stated that it is expanding its activities in the field of water and waste, that its main goal is not regulatory. It is supervision and control. In any case, in order to fulfill her role, she asks for support in terms of personnel and funds. opposition parties condemned that the bill is unconstitutional and runs counter to the decision of the Supreme Court on water. “Water is not a commercial product that is subject to market regulation,” they stressed. They also denounced the many vested interests provisions in other parts of the bill and accused the government of “closing contracts” shortly before it expired.

Source: RES-IPE