Furnizorii privati de energie si gaze dau primele lupte pentru castigarea clientilor captiviThe Private Energy And Gas Suppliers Start Fighting For The Captive Customers

Deschiderea pietei pentru consumatorii captivi, cu un procent de doar 10% deocamdata, anunta deja o competitie acerba intre furnizorii privati de energie electrica si gaze naturale. Pana cand populatia (consumatorii casnici) va avea posibilitatea reala de a-si alege cel mai bun furnizor, agentii economici mici ce au intrat deja pe piata libera au devenit tinta predilecta a firmelor de furnizare. Jocul nu a inceput corect din start, data fiind structura actuala a sistemului de distributie, dar promite „meciuri” de ce in ce mai stranse.

Monopolul pe care il detin in piata consumatorilor casnici distribuitorii de energie (Electrica plus cele cinci filiale privatizate) va mai dainui ceva vreme, inclusiv dupa etapele de dereglementare a pietei, in schimb, pe segmentul intreprinderilor mici acesta trebuie spart inca din aceasta faza. Furnizorii privati, altii decat cei desprinsi din Electrica, pot lua inca de pe acuma o importanta felie din marele tort al “reglementatilor”.

Acealsi lucru este valabil si pe piata gazelor naturale. Pentru a le usura accesul catre consumatorii in regim reglementat, Autoritatea Nationala de Reglementare in Domeniul Energiei (ANRE) a luat deja decizii care sa stimuleze concurenta furnizorilor pe aceste piete, precum si diminuarea riscurilor pentru acestia. Populatia, respectiv consumatorii industriali care nu au optat inca pentru piata concurentiala, vor avea de platit suplimentar la energia consumata, asa zisa componenta de piata concurentiala (CPC). Aceasta a fost introdusa in factura inca din vara, dar cum deschiderea pietei este inca redusa impactul a fost unul minor.

Incepand cu 1 ianuarie 2014, 20% din energia electrica livrata consumatorilor asa zisi captivi va proveni din piata libera la pretul concurential. iar 80% din consum va fi facturat la pret reglementat,. Amintim ca deja din vara acestui an , populatia primeste 10% din energie la pretul pietei libere, iar pe factura a aparut o noua categorie de consum, respectiv consumul de energie activa concurentiala, care arata cantitatea de energie luata de pe piata libera si pretul acesteia.

Masura face parte din procesul de liberalizare totala a pietei de energie, care prevede cresterea graduala, pana la 31 decembrie 2017, a cantitatii de energie la pretul pietei. Incepand cu aceasta data, doar consumatorii vulnerabili vor mai plati tarife reglementate, iar restul vor negocia direct cu furnizorii preturile pe care le vor achita.

Tariful componentei de piata concurentiala (CPC) a fost introdus pentru prima data la 1 septembrie 2012, pentru consumatorii industriali. Din datele ANRE, in primele 10 luni de aplicare a tarifului CPC la acesti consumatori s-a constat o crestere de pret de aproximativ 1% fata de situatia in care s-ar fi mentinut tariful reglementat pentru tot consumul.

Conform metodologiei elaborate de ANRE, tariful CPC este calculat de furnizor pe baza achizitiei de energie electrica exclusiv din piata concurentiala, „cuprinde costurile cu achizitia energiei electrice din pietele competitive centralizate, precum si costurile serviciilor asociate ale acestei energii furnizate la consumator (costuri de transport, sistem, distributie, furnizare—n.r.)” si este avizat de autoritatea competenta (ANRE).

„In conditiile in care, incepand cu 1 iulie 2013, tarifele de furnizare au fost reduse cu circa 1,3%, estimam ca introducerea CPC va conduce la o crestere a pretului final la energia electrica mai mica de 0,5%”, sustin reprezentantii Autoritatii Nationale de Reglementare in domeniul Energiei, intr-un comunicat remis la inceputul lunii septembrie.

In ceea ce priveste piata gazelor naturale, respectiv liberalizarea pentru consumatorii casnici si industriali, lucrurile stau relativ asemanator cu piata de energie electrica. Si aici vom asista la o concurenta acerba intre furnizori, unii dintre ei activand si in piata de energie. „Exista oportunitati semnificative in aceste piete energetice din Europa de Est, care trec printr-o faza de liberalizare”, a declarat Matthew Gray, analist la Jefferies LLC. Nu intamplator, Mercuria Energy Trading SA, una dintre cele mai mari companii integrate de energie si comert cu marfuri la nivel mondial, a investit 50 de milioane de dolari in Amromco, cea mai mare companie independenta producatoare de gaze naturale din Romania. Sa speram ca surprize de genul acesta vom mai avea.

Incepand cu data de 1 iulie 2013, pretul final al gazelor naturale in Romania a crescut cu 8% pentru consumatorii casnici si cu 3% pentru cei industriali. Potrivit Autoritatii Nationale de Reglementare in domeniul Energiei /ANRE/, urmatorul pas din calendarul de liberalizare pentru populatie este 1 octombrie 2013, cand pretul gazelor va fi majorat cu cel mult 2% pentru consumatorii industriali, in timp ce pentru cei casnici tariful va creste cu maximum 1%.The opening of the market for the captive customers, by just 10% so far, already heralds a fierce fight among the private electricity and gas suppliers. Until the households will be able to actually choose the best supplier, the economic actors already present in the free market have become the favorite target for the supplier companies. The game is unfair from the very beginning, due to the current structure of the distribution system, but it promises more and more narrowly contested ‘bouts’.

The monopoly of the energy distributors (Electrica, plus its five privatized subsidiaries) on the captive market will last for some more time, including after the market deregulation stages; but on the small enterprises segment, it must be dismantled right away. The private suppliers, other than those separated from Electrica, are already able to cut themselves a generous piece of the big cake now reserved to the ‘regulated’ companies.

The same goes for the natural gas market. To facilitate the access to the regulated consumers, the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) has already taken decisions to stimulate the competitions between the suppliers in those markets, and also to reduce the risks for them. The households and the industrial consumers who have not yet opted for the free market will have to pay more for their energy consumption – the so-called competitive market component (CPC). This has been already added to the bills this summer, but the market opening being still small, the impact was minor.

From January 1, 2014, 20% of the energy delivered to the so-called captive consumers will come from the free market, at competitive prices, and 80% of the consumption will be invoiced at the regulated price. Note that the households already get, since this summer, 10% of the energy at the free market price, and that a new consumption category is already present on the invoices, namely the competitive active energy consumption, which shows the amount of energy purchased on the free market and its price.

This step is a part of the process of complete liberalization of the energy market, which involves the gradual increase of the amount of energy at market price, until December 31, 2017. After that date, only the vulnerable consumers will still pay regulated prices, and all the rest will negotiate the prices directly with the suppliers.

The competitive market component (CPC) was first introduced on September 1, 2012, for the industrial consumers. ANRE’s data show that during the first 10 months of application of the CPC tariff, these consumers experienced a price increase of approximately 1%, based on the result of keeping the regulated tariff for the whole consumption.

According to the methodology developed by the ANRE, the CPC tariff is calculated by the supplier, based on the electrical energy purchase exclusively on the competitive market, and „it includes the costs of purchasing the electrical energy on the centralized competitive markets, plus the cost of the associated services for this energy delivered to the consumer (transportation, system, distribution, and supply costs – editor’s note)”, and it is approved by the competent authority, i.e. the ANRE.

„As the supply tariffs have been cut by approximately 1.3% since July 1, 2012, we estimate that introducing the CPC will lead to an increase of the final price of the electrical energy by less than 0.5%”, claimed the representatives of the Energy Regulatory Authority in a press release at the beginning of September.

As for the natural gas market and the liberalization for the households and the industrial consumers, the situation is similar to the electrical energy. Here, too, we are about to see a cutthroat competition among the suppliers, some of which are also present on the electrical energy market. „There are significant opportunities on these energy markets of the Eastern Europe, who are going through a liberalization process”, said Matthew Gray, analyst at Jefferies LLC. It is not a coincidence that Mercuria Energy Trading SA, one of the largest integrated companies in the worldwide energy and commodities trade, has invested $50mn in Amromco, the largest independent gas producer of Romania. We hope to see more such surprises.

Starting on July 1 2013, the end price of the natural gas in Romania went 8% up for the households, and 3% up for the industrial consumers. According to the ANRE, the next step in the liberalization schedule is October 1, 2013, when the price of the natural gas will be raised by 2% at most for the industrial consumers, and by 1% at most for the households.