PARLIAMENT OF ROMANIA
CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES
LAW
On Electric Power
The Chamber of Deputies adopts the current Draft Law
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
Field of Regulation
Art. 1. – (1) The current law sets the regulating framework for carrying out the activities in the field of co-generated electric and thermal power in safe conditions and at high quality standards, in view of an optimal utilization of the primary energy sources and according to the environmental protection norms.
(2) The following shall be exempted from the provisions of this law:
a) electric accumulators, mobile power generating units, electric equipment located on vehicles of any kind;
b) stationary continuous current power sources;
c) power generating installations within territorial sea waters that are not connected to the electricity network
d) Electrical sources with an installed active power lower than 250kV.
The Objectives of the Law
Art. 2. – Activities in the field of electric and thermal energy produced through cogeneration must be carried out in view of achieving the following main objectives:
a) ensuring a sustainable development of the national economy;
b) diversifying the primary energy sources;
c) creating and ensuring the operation of competitive electric power markets;
d) providing indiscriminating and regulated access of all participants to the electric power market and to the power networks of public interest;
e) making electric power tariffs, prices and taxes transparent within a tariff policy, for the purpose of increasing efficiency in producing, transporting, distributing and using electric power;
f) creating safety supplies of the fuel needed for the production of electric and thermal power through cogeneration;
g) ensuring the interconnected functioning of the national power grid with the power grids of the neighboring countries and with the power grids of the Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electric Power (U.C.T.E);
h) promoting the use of new, renewable sources of energy;
i) ensuring environmental protection at the local and international level, in accordance with the treatises Romania is part of;
j) providing security measures against terrorist and sabotage acts.
The meaning of some terms and expressions
Art. 3. – For the purpose of the current law, the terms used shall be defined as it follows:
1. electric power self-generator – natural or legal person generating power, in addition to the activities performed in the normal course of business electric and thermal power through cogeneration needed for its own use. The self- producer can operate on the power market as holder of generation, supply or consuming licenses, under the terms of the current law;
2. access to the electrical network of public interest - the right of companies that generate and/or supply electric power, as well as of electric power consumers to get connected and to use in accordance with the law, the electrical transportation, distribution and supply networks;
3. vertically integrated economic entity in the electric power sector – legal person carrying out, a part from other activities outside the power sector at least one of the following activities: generation, transportation, distribution or supply of electric power;
4. horizontally integrated economic entity in the field of electric power – legal person carrying out, apart from other activities outside the power sector, at least one of the following activities: generation, transportation, distribution or supply of electric power;
5. competent authority – The National Power Energy Sector Regulatory Authority – A.N.R.E.;
6. emergency – event which is manifested through dangerous deviations from the functional parameters stipulated by the technical norms in force;
7. interconnection facility – installations and equipments by which the connection of two or more electric power systems is made;
8. power facility – installations for generating electric or thermal power in co-generation, electric networks and other electric power equipments;
9. electric power station – ensemble of installations, buildings and equipment needed for the generation of electric power.
10. cogeneration (thermal) power station – ensemble of installations, buildings and equipments necessary for the generation of combined electric and thermal power;
11. client – natural or legal person with whom electric power is traded;
12. electric power consumer – natural or legal person buying electric power for their own use and/or for a sub-consumer connected to its installations;
13. eligible electric power consumer – the consumer that can chose the supplier and contract the needed power directly, having access to the transportation and/or distribution networks;
14. captive consumer – the consumer who, for technical, economic or regulating reasons, is unable to choose the supplier;
15. passage (functioning) way of the power line – the land surface along the power line and the air space above it for which some restrictions are imposed with regard to the power line’s coexistence with natural elements, objects, buildings, installations etc.; the passage way includes the protection zone and the safety zone;
16. distribution – transmission of electric power through distribution networks from the transport networks or from producers to consumer installations;
17. commercial exploitation of a power facility – ensemble of activities carried out by an economic entity in the power sector in view of obtaining profit;
18. supplier – legal person holding a supply license, that supplies electric power to one or several consumers, according to a supply contract;
19. supply – the activity of trading electric and/or thermal power to the clients;
20. direct line – line by which electric power is transmitted from the generator to a single user; the direct line is complementary to the electric power system;
21. natural monopoly in the field of electric power – a market situation in which electric power transportation and distribution services are provided by a single economic entity for all the consumers across a certain delimited area;
22. electric power market operator – legal person providing the transacting of electric power amounts on the electric power market and determining the prices on the spot market;
23. distribution operator – legal person holding a distribution license that holds, exploits, maintains, modernizes and develops the distribution network;
24. transportation and system operator – legal person holding a license for transporting electric power and system services;
25. merit order – the order in which an electric power generator is taken into consideration according to the price offered for covering the electric power necessary for the National Power Grid (SEN);
26. electric power market – the organizational frame in which electric power and its associated services are traded;
27. perspective plan – long term planning of the needed investments in generation, transportation and distribution facilities in view of meeting the power needs of the system and covering client delivery requirements;
28. plan for protecting the national power system from major perturbations – document containing technical and organizational measures meant to prevent perturbations from expanding and to limit their consequences;
29. electric power generator – natural or legal person holding a license for generating electric power, including through cogeneration;
30. electric power independent generator – electric power generator that does not have transport or distribution functions on the territory in which the electric network to which it is connected is located;
31. rehabilitation – ensemble of operations for replacing some existent equipments and/or installations which, without the modification of the initial technology, recover the technical parameters and the effectiveness to a level close to the initial one;
32. upgrading – ensemble of replacement operations of some technologies that are morally and/or physically obsolete by modern technologies based on state of the art technical conceptions in view of increasing production, reducing specific energy consumption, reducing polluting emissions, etc.;
33. electric power network - ensemble of lines, including their support and protection elements, electric power stations and other interconnected electro-power equipments. The electric power network can be a transport network or a distribution network;
34. electric power transportation network – electric power network of national and strategic interest with the nominal line tension/voltage higher than 110 kV;
35. electric power distribution network – electric power network with the nominal line tension lower than 110 kV, inclusively
36. electrical network of public interest – electrical network to which at least two users can get connected;
37. electric power sector – ensemble of activities and installations for electric and thermal power cogeneration, transport, system services, distribution and supply, including the import and export of electric power and customary and/or emergency exchanges with the power grids of neighboring countries;
38. transport service – service provided by the transportation and system operator, consisting in ensuring the transmission of an amount of electric power between two or more points of the transport network, at the required quality standards;
39. system service – service provided for maintaining the safety functioning of the power grid as well as of the quality of electric power, according to the regulations in force;
40. technological system service – system service usually provided by producers at the request of the transportation and system operators;
41. electric power grid – ensemble of interconnected electrical equipments by which the generation, transport, transmission, distribution, supply and use of electricity is carried out;
42. National Power Grid – hereinafter called SEN - the power grid across the national territory. SEN constitutes the basic infrastructure used in common by the electric power market participants;
43. isolated electric power system – local system that produces, distributes and supplies electric power and is not interconnected with SEN;
44. sub-consumer – natural or legal person whose electrical equipment is connected downstream of the consumer measurement set;
45. electric power transport – transmission of electric power from the generators to the distribution installations or to the installations of the consumers connected directly to the electric power transport networks;
46. electric power network user – producer, transportation and system operator, distribution operator, supplier, eligible consumer or captive consumer;
47. U.C.T.E - Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electric Power;
48. protection zone – the zone adjacent to the power facility in which restrictions are introduced regarding the access of persons and constructions regime;
49. safety zone – adjacent zone to the power facilities in which restrictions and interdictions are imposed in order to ensure the proper functioning of the facility and to avoid jeopardizing persons, goods and environment; the safety zone includes the protection zone.
CHAPTER II
Authorities and Competences
Power Strategy and Policy
Art. 4. – (1) The national power strategy defines the objectives of the electric power sector and the optimal ways of achieving these objectives, also ensuring a sustainable development of the national economy on the long and medium term. The electric power strategy is drafted by the Government in consultation with nongovernmental organizations and is approved by law.
(2) The national power policy is drafted according to the governing program and the guidelines established by the national power strategy by the relevant ministry, in consultation with nongovernmental organizations for a medium term and accompanied by a long-term forecasts for the long term, with a focus mainly on:
a) creating the appropriate institutional frame by defining the competent bodies and authorities for the implementation of this policy;
b) ensuring security in fuel provision;
c) ensuring electric power and fuel imports and exports;
d) providing environmental protection and ecological reconstruction of the sites affected by power related activities;
e) transparency of prices and tariffs for fuels and energy;
f) increasing the effectiveness in using fuels and energy;
g) development of renewable sources of energy, with priority given to electricity for isolated settlements;
h) development of international cooperation in the power sector;
(3) The funding sources for the implementation of the Government strategy and policy in the power sector shall be covered from own sources of the economic entities in the field, the state budget, local budgets and by reimbursable loans and grants.
The Power Program
Art. 5 – (1) The power policy results in a program comprising measures for the stimulation of investment activities, research, development, etc., approved by Government Decision.
(2) The Government, the relevant ministry and the other specialized central an local public authorities shall take measures in view of achieving the objectives set in the program mentioned at paragraph (1) and shall examine the progress in the implementation of the program’s provisions yearly or as frequently as needed.
Duties of the line ministry
Art. 6. – The relevant ministry shall draft the national power policy and make sure the policy is implemented according to the stipulations of the current law. In doing so the relevant ministry shall have the following main duties:
a) to draft programs and plans for the implementation of the Government policy in the electric power sector, including energy efficiency plans and plans for the promotion of renewable energy sources;
b) to draft norms and regulations for the electric power sector;
c) to approve the compulsory technical standards and norms for the electric power system;
d) to provide for the drafting of studies according to which priorities are set for the investments in the electric power sector;
e) to draft the fuel safety supplies program and monitor the implementation of its provisions by economic entities;
f) to permanently monitor the performance and quality of technologies and installations in the power system and initiate measures in view of increasing their parameters;
g) to act as concession granting authority in the electric power sector;
h) to take measures for constructing power generating installations enabling the efficient use of inferior fuels from domestic resources and for using some pre-established quantities of renewable and secondary energy sources;
i) to supervise the implementation and compliance with the set measures for the environmental protection by all those involved in activities pertaining to the electric power sector;
j) to draft programs for the promotion of electric power exports proposing to Government measures for decreasing the country’s dependency on imports of primary energy resources;
k) to monitor and propose to Government measures about the situation of the national power system safety supplies of primary energy resources – coal and hydrocarbon fuels and, together with the Ministry of Waters and Environmental Protection, about the water level in the storage reservoirs;