Nita said Wednesday, at the beginning of the Government’s weekly meeting, that the Commission has just approved the support scheme, which is “good news for everybody.”
Large electricity consumers in Romania, like Alro Slatina and AlcelorMittal Galati, kept complaining over the last years about the high cost of electricity bills and mostly about the government support scheme for renewable energy producers. Therefore, they kept asking for measures that would limit the impact of green certificates on energy tariffs.
In the summer of 2014, the Romanian Government decided that large electric power consumers will pay only 15%-60% of the green certificates quota, as part of a state aid scheme aimed at preventing these companies from losing their competitiveness because of the support granted to the renewable energy sector.
The support scheme is available for 10 years and could take effect only upon approval from the European Commission.
Green energy producers in Romania receive a number of certificates depending on the generation technology they use and the amount of energy they produce. After that, they sell green certificates to energy suppliers who must ensure a certain amount of renewable energy for consumers. The number of green certificates they bought indicates whether they met their quota or not. The affair entails expenses for energy suppliers which transfer them to beneficiaries.
The energy intensive industry in Romania accounts for about 20% of the final gross power consumption and generates the bulk of jobs, having created 760,000 jobs directly and about 1,500,000 jobs indirectly in 2012.