RO competition council evaluates entry barriers faced by renewable energy investors

Romania’s competition regulator Consiliul Concurentei (Competition Council) has launched an extensive analysis to identify possible entry barriers faced by the producers of electricity from renewable sources.

When the analysis is done, the Competition Council will issue recommendations regarding the efficiency of the process of functioning and grid connection approvals for new renewable energy capacities or may resort to other legal instruments.

In order to operate renewable electricity generation capacities, companies must meet several conditions and hold various authorizations and approvals, documents issued by several public authorities - which can turn the authorization process into a complex and difficult one, the body explains.

In the context of more projects being expected in the coming period, for the optimization of the national authorization and approval procedures to reduce the implementation time for wind farms and photovoltaic parks,it becomes very important to differentiate between strictly necessary regulations and those regulations that are not strictly necessary - or may even be potentially harmful to the development of the market, the president of the body, Bogdan Chirițoiu, explained.

In conducting the study, the Competition Council will consult the parties involved in the approval and connection process, such as the market regulator (ANRE), the Ministry of Energy, the power grid operator Transelectrica, electricity distribution operators, central and local public authorities involved in the endorsement process, but also investors and their associations.

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