The result of liberalization is real prices that will guarantee the sustainability of the development and investment component. Real prices are a prerequisite for market development and a strong investment momentum, said Eraldo Banovac, chief advisor of HERA, discussing the details brought by the 3rd energy package.
The concept of the 3rd energy package is prescribed through two European directives that are implemented into national legislation, and three regulations that are directly applicable, aiming to establish a unified electricity and natural gas market in the EU. Prices should become as low as possible while simultaneously increasing service standards and energy supply security. In addition, as Banovac emphasized, national regulatory bodies are being strengthened, which now have the power to enforce their decisions and can take certain measures in case of inadequate functioning of the energy market, as well as penalize energy entities if necessary.
– Customers are now at the center of the system. There is now also the possibility of changing suppliers within three weeks – said Banovac, who highlighted the right to obtain the status of a vulnerable customer as one of the important novelties, where private customers due to social or health status have the right to receive energy under special conditions.
When it comes to the implementation of regulations in Croatia, he emphasized that the energy market has been completely open for five years, and that it is most important to ensure the dynamic development of the domestic energy sector.
One of the companies that is just entering the Croatian supply market is RWE Croatia, and the Chief Operating Officer of RWE Croatia, Miroslav Kulla, spoke about how to manage markets in transition for the benefit of consumers. According to him, we can expect that customers in the future will pay attention to service prices, but also seek a wider range of products, and only reliable suppliers with more complex services will survive. He also emphasized that institutional support is needed to encourage users to change operators, as well as educating users who need to be explained how the market functions.
He also emphasized this in a panel discussion moderated by Kristina Čelić from the Ministry of Economy, where besides Banovac, Dejan Ljuština (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Ivana Marković (Plinacro), and Tomislav Šerić (HEP) participated.
Marković pointed out that the certification process for Plinacro has been initiated in accordance with deadlines and believes that everything will be resolved in the next three to four months, and that Plinacro will become one of the few operators at the EU level that is completely ownership-separated. Regarding transport capacities, she particularly highlighted the interconnection with Hungary, which increased the system’s capacity, enabled supply diversification, and achieved a high level of supply security.
Regarding the electricity system, the CEO of HEP, Tomislav Šerić, emphasized that a request for certification under the ITO model will be sent in a couple of weeks. He also referred to new laws such as the Electricity Market Act, which still have old subordinate legislation at the moment when new suppliers are entering the market.
