Energy News

Technical Exchange Programme for Energy Regulators was organized in Riga, Latvia on March 1-2 and in Vilnius, Lithuania on March 3 in the frames of INOGATE project.

 For more information click here

On February 8-12 ERRA Training Course on Introduction to Energy Regulation was organized in Abuja, Nigeria.

On February 1-5 ERRA Electricity Markets Training Course was organized in Budapest, Hungary.

ERRA Member News

NEW CHAIR AT THE NATIONAL CONTROL COMMISSION FOR PRICES AND ENERGY IN LITHUANIA (NCC)

Mrs. Diana Korsakaite was appointed as a new Chair of the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy  in Lithuania (NCC).

  NEW GENERAL DIRECTOR AT THE NATIONAL ENERGY REGULATORY AGENCY (ANRE)

 Mr. Victor Parlicov  was appointed as General Director of the ANRE.

 
NEW ERRA Members

There were no new member applications on the 8rd April 2009 at the General Assembly in Warsaw, Poland. The next new member elections are scheduled for the 2010 General Assembly.

Current Energy Issues

Estonia: Energy Market Inspectorate (EMI)

Natural gas act amendment came into force. The main change was harmonization of gas act with EU directive concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply (minimum requirements to guarantee the security of gas supply for household customer). Secondly the act was improved with balance system. Thirdly the Inspectorate has ex-post regulation to monitor the gas prices by a seller, who is an undertaking in a dominant position as defined in the Competition Act.

Hungary: Hungarian Energy Office (HEO)

The system of gas price subsidization has changed. From 1 January 2007 the support of substantial right has been abolished and a new, social support system has been introduced for residential customers (that is the responsibility of Social Ministry, so the Hungarian Energy Office is not involved in the legal procedure regarding gas price support system any more).

The charge for system use and the public utility prices have changed since 1 February.

Mainly the system operation charge decreased due to the fall of the tax-type rates that are built into the system operation charge. The other charges for system use (transmission fee, distribution fee, ancillary services) were increased. In aggregate, the charges for system use increased by an average of 0.1%.

The public utility wholesale price increased by an average of 9%, while the public utility end-user price increased by 4.8%.

Kazakhstan: Agency for Regulation of Natural Monopolies (AREM)

According to changes made on July 5, 2006, in the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Natural Monopolies», the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation of Natural Monopolies got functions related to approval of standard technical losses, technical and technological norms of use of raw materials, materials, fuel, energy, norms related to staffing of subjects of natural monopolies.

Russian Federation: Federal Tariff Service (FST)

Changes in the competencies of the Federal Tariff Service of the Russian Federation effective as of November 2006:

The following functions were excluded:

Setting cap (minimum and/or maximum) levels of prices for electricity sold by generators in the wholesale electricity (capacity) market at non-regulated prices in the procedure and in cases specified by the Government of the Russian Federation;

Setting the value for cap levels of prices for electricity (capacity) in the free trade sector.

The following functions were added:

Formation and maintenance of the federal information registry of suppliers of last resort and areas of their operation;

Exercise of control over activities of the trading system administrator within its competence.

Adoption of new Rules of the Wholesale Electricity (Capacity) Market of the Transition Period, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 31, 2006, and Rules of functioning of retail electricity markets during the transitional period of the power sector reforms, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, made all subjects of the wholesale and retail electricity (capacity) markets to convert to new working conditions, including civil law relations and relations with state authorities.

Serbia: Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia

Jan 1, 2007: Following the decision of the Council of AERS, the new eligibility threshold (limit of annual energy consumption needed for obtaining the status of an eligible customer) have been set on 3 GWh/year (equivalent to market opening of 21%), reduced from previous 25 GWh/year.

Jan 5, 2007: New Tariff Systems on price regulation came into force, by being published in Official Gazette of Republic of Serbia. Application of the Tariff System for oil and oil derivates transportation through product pipelines starts in January 2007. Tariff systems regarding electricity system are to be implemented by 1 April, and Tariff Systems on natural gas by 1st July.

Feb 8, 2007: The AERS adopted the Methodology for calculation of charges for connection to transport and distribution networks for natural gas. The new methodology enters into force as of 1st June 2007.

Ukraine: National Electricity Regulatory Commission of Ukraine

According to Decree of NERC of December 19, 2006, No.1672, from January 1, 2007, for natural gas for residential consumers differentiated (depending on the volumes of consumption) prices were approved.

 
 ERRA Press Release, April 22, 2009

NEW PRESIDIUM
OF ENERGY REGULATORS REGIONAL ASSOCIATION
ASSUMES OFFICE

Dr. Gabor Szorenyi, Director of the Hungarian Energy Office, was reelected as Chairman of the Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA), a voluntary international organization of independent energy regulatory bodies primarily from the Central European and Eurasian region, with Affiliates from the United States, Asia and the Middle East. Dr. Gábor Szörényi was reelected as ERRA Chairman on the ERRA General Assembly held on April 8 in Warsaw, Poland. His term expires in 2011 Gabor Szorenyi graduated in 1971 from the Technical University of Budapest and started his business career at the Hungarian Power Companies (MVM). He spent 23 years at MVM working on coordination of R&D, energy system planning, power plant investment, preparation of new market structure and privatisation, energy conservation, PR and related issues. In 1979 he received a doctorate degree from the Technical University of Budapest and in 1999 the degree of Master of Business Administration from the British Brunel University. Between 1992 and 94 he was President of the Board of Directors at the Vertesi Power Plant. Since August 1994, Mr. Szorenyi has been Deputy Director and since 2002 Director of the Hungarian Energy Office. Until 2008 Mr. Szorenyi was a Chairman of the ERRA Licensing and Competition Committee.

 During the ERRA April 2009 General Assembly the following new ERRA Presidium members were elected: