Consumatorii de energie electrica trebuie sa-si cunoasca drepturile intr-o piata libera si concurentiala (I)The Electricity Consumers Must Know Their Rights on a Free Competitive Market (I)
Scaderea pretului energiei electrice nu s-a reflectat in facturile consumatorilor finali, dimpotriva, in cazul consumatorilor captivi pretul chiar a crescut. Liberalizarea pietei, incepand cu 1 ianuarie 2014, ar putea schimba insa aceasta situatie, cu o conditie: consumatorul final sa isi cunoasca drepturile legale. Modificarea Legii energiei si gazelor, in conformitate cu Directiva III europeana privind piata unica de energie, confera consumatorului final dreptul suveran de a-si alege furnizorul de energie si gaze, in functie de cerintele proprii de natura financiar- comerciala, precum si de calitate serviciilor oferite. Din pacate, nu toti consumatorii sunt in cunostinta de cauza in legatura cu drepturile lor, dar mai ales cu procedurile pe care trebuie sa le urmeze astfel incat deschiderea pietei sa fie in avantajul lor.
Asadar, peste mai putin de doua luni, consumatorii persoane juridice vor iesi din regim reglementat, iar pe piata asa zis captiva vor ramane doar o parte din consumatorii casnici persoane fizice (procesul de dereglementare a inceput si aici), care acopera circa 8,6 milioane de familii pe tot atatea puncte de livrare, ceea ce reprezinta circa 24-26% din consumul total de curent electric inregistrat in Romania. Atragem insa atentia ca inclusiv in aceasta piata exista posibilitatea alegerii furnizorului de energie , incepand cu data de 1 septembrie 2013, in conditiile in care 10% din consumul inregistrat este deja o componenta a pietei libere. Daca ne uitam la factura de energie electrica pentru consumatorii casnici, putem observa ca au aparut deja doua componente ale pretului final la energie, una reprezentand Componenta de Piata Libera (CPC), in procent de 10%, si cealalta, de 90%, care reprezinta pretul reglementat.
Etapizat, Componenta de Piata Concurentiala va creste in asa fel incat la sfarsitul lui 2017 si acest segment de piata (consumatorii casnici) va fi liberalizat 100%. Este evident astfel ca disparitia pietei reglementate va elimina, pe de o parte, subventiile mascate si, pe de alta parte, va intensifica competitia pe atragerea consumatorului final, cu efecte benefice asupra pretului si a calitatii serviciilor de furnizare. Toate aceste adevaruri sunt insa valabile chiar acum, pentru consumatorii persoane juridice care au iesit din regimul reglementat, sau care vor iesi la sfarsitul acestui an.
Prin prevederile Legii energiei si gazelor naturale, serviciul de furnizare include doua componente noi, pe care majoritatea consumatorilor din Romania nu le cunosc inca. Ne vom referi acum doar la capitolul energie electrica. Astfel, acolo unde a fost cazul, serviciul de furnizare a fost despartit de serviciul de distributie energie, rezultand doua entitati distincte, dar care fac parte din aceeasi familie, companie mama: Electrica, CEZ, Enel, E.ON. Amintim ca pana anul trecut vorbeam, in cazul companiilor de mai sus, de o singura persoana juridica, pe cand acuma avem de a face cu societati cu activitate exclusiva de furnizare, intr-o competitie libera, si cu societati cu activitate de distributie, care pastreaza doar acest serviciu si cel de contorizare.
Am constat de-a lungul timpului ca foarte multi consumatori din Romania nu inteleg cum ajunge curentul electric pentru nevoile lor, in noua conjunctura stabilita de Legea energiei si gazelor. Reteaua de distributie si reteaua de transport sunt unice si indiferent de cine este furnizorul de energie electrica, distribuitorul regional are obligatia, prin lege, sa puna la dispozitie reteaua si sa efectueze serviciul de distributie si de alimentare a consumatorilor, in aceleasi conditii egale pentru toti furnizorii. Mai mult, acesti distribuitori regionali sunt obligati sa efectueze lucrarile de intretinere si investitiile de dezvoltare a retelelor, conform standardelor de performanta aprobate de catre Autoritatea Nationala de Reglementare in domeniul Energiei (ANRE).
Ar trebui sa stim ca pentru serviciile pe care le presteaza, distribuitorii regionali de energie electrica primesc o suma deloc mica, rezultata din tarifele reglementate aprobate de ANRE pentru cele trei categorii de tensiune: inalta, medie si joasa tensiune.
O alta companie parte la efectuarea serviciului de furnizare este Compania Nationala Transelectrica, care efectueaza transportul energiei si serviciile de operare de sistem pe retelele de 200-400 KV. In acelasi timp, Transelectrica asigura prin Dispecerul Energetic National echilibrul sistemului intre productie si consum intern, sau pe relatia import/export.
In numarul viitor al publicatiei noastre vom arata efectiv care sunt pasii pe care consumatorul final trebuie sa-i faca pentru a-si alege furnizorul de energie electrica, raspunzand astfel solicitarilor cititorilor nostri.
(va urma)The smaller electricity prices did not impact the end user bills – on the contrary, for the captive consumers, prices actually went up. But the liberalization of the market starting on January 1, 2014 might change this reality, on one condition: if the end users know their legal rights. The change of the Energy and Gas Law in accordance with the third European directive for a single energy market enables the end users to freely choose their energy and gas suppliers, in accordance with their own financial, commercial, and service quality requests. Unfortunately, not all the users know their own rights, and especially the procedures to follow to benefit from the market opening.
So in less than two month the client companies will no longer be under the regulated regime, and the so-called captive market will be left with only some of the household consumers (the deregulation process has begun for them, too!), including 8.6 million households and an equal number of delivery points, equivalent to 24-26% of the total consumption of electricity of Romania. Note that even on this market one can choose the electricity supplier starting from September 1, 2013, with 10% of the recorded consumption already included into the free market. Looking to the electricity invoice for a household, one can note two components of the end price for energy, one representing the competitive market component (CPC) of 10%, and the other one of 90%, representing the regulated price.
The competitive market component will gradually grow to 100% liberalization for this market segment (households), too, by the end of 2017. So it becomes obvious that the extinction of the regulated price will eliminate the hidden subsidies on one hand, and it will sharpen the competition for end users, on the other hand, with positive impact on prices and on the quality of the supply services. All these are already true for the client companies who got rid of the regulated regime, or will do so at the end of this year.
In accordance with the Energy and Gas Law, the supply service includes two new components, still unknown to most Romanian consumers. We will now discuss only the electricity. So, where possible, the supply service and the distribution service were separated, resulting in two entities who are distinct, but still belong to the same family, or to the same parent company: Electrica, CEZ, Enel, E.ON. Remember that until last year, we were talking for these companies about the same moral person, while now we have companies offering only supply services, competing freely, and companies who provide distribution and and metering services only.
We noticed in time that many Romanian consumers do not understand how they get the electricity for their consumption needs, within the new context set by the Electricity and Gas Law. The distribution grid and the transfer network are unique, and irrespective of the electricity supplier, in accordance with the law, the regional distributor must make available its network and provide the distribution and power supply to the consumers, under equal conditions for all the suppliers. Moreover, these regional distributors must carry out the maintenance works and the investments for developing the networks in accordance with performance standards approved by the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE).
You should know that for their services the regional electricity distributors are paid enough, from the regulated tariffs approved by the ANRE for the three types of voltage: high, medium, and low.
Another party in the supply service is the national company Transelectrica, who performs the energy transfer and the system operation system for the 200-400 KV grid. Transelectrica also provides, through the National Power Dispatcher, the balancing of the system between production and internal or import/export consumption.
In our next issue, we will show the actual steps to be taken by the end user to choose its electricity supplier, thus meeting our readers’ requests.
(to be continued)