Laws&Regulations - So Who Should Purchase Green Certificates?

The National Regulatory Authority for Energy (ANRE) has drafted new secondary legislation clarifying who is to participate in the green certificate market (Green Certificate Market Draft Regulation).  The Green Certificate Market Draft Regulation is expected to enter into force once the European Commission gives the green light for the federal aid scheme under Law no. 220/2008 on renewables, as subsequently amended (Renewables Law).

The Renewables Law currently indicates the electricity suppliers as being required to purchase green certificates depending on the electricity supplied to final consumers (Article 8 of the Renewables Law).  However, the Renewables Law is expected to be amended in line with the Green Certificate Market Draft Regulation, which indicates the following as being required to purchase green certificates, namely (a) suppliers of final consumers, including eligible consumers in the wholesale market acting based on bilateral agreements, (b) electricity producers who own power plants with consumers directly connected to said plants, and (c) consumers who own their own power facilities at the places of their consumption.

Green certificates can be traded through the centralised market or bilateral agreements.

Purchasers of green certificates are entitled:
(a)    To pass on the cost of green certificates to final consumers (in the case of suppliers to final consumers);
(b)    To use the green certificates bought in excess of the quota for one year to comply with the quota(s) set by ANRE for the next year(s);
(c)    To sell the green certificates bought in excess of the quota for one year.

In order to encourage the liquidity of the market, purchasers of green certificates are required:
(a)    To pay for the green certificates acquired in accordance with the payment schedule provided in the bilateral agreements;
(b)    To transmit the payment confirmations for the green certificates purchased during the previous month through bilateral agreements to the operator of the green certificate market on a monthly basis.

Sellers of green certificates on the other hand are required:
(a)    To invoice the value of the green certificates sold through bilateral agreements, in accordance with the terms and conditions agreed upon in their contracts;
(b)    To transmit information on the green certificates traded through bilateral agreements to the operator of the green certificate market on a monthly basis, including cash confirmations for the green certificates traded during the previous month through bilateral agreements.

Other provisions of the Green Certificate Market Draft Regulation include:
(a)    Participants in the centralised green certificate market may submit monthly offers to sell or to purchase green certificates;
(b)    All sale and purchase operations of green certificates shall be registered in the Registry of Green Certificates managed by the operator of the green certificate market.

Relevant provisions:
•    Law no. 220/2008 on renewables, as subsequently amended;
•  Green Certificate Market Draft Regulation, as available on the official website of ANRE http://www.anre.ro/documente.php?id=937 as at 21 April 2011.

Cristina Daianu, Managing Counsel                Diana Poputoaia, Associate   

This text is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as legal advice nor is it an exhaustive presentation of the issues reviewed herein, as Salans company is not to be held liable in any way for the failure to implement or implementation of the above. For specific legal issues, we hereby recommend a case-by-case consultation.