The National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) fined by 15 million lei in the period 2019-2022 companies in the wholesale electricity and natural gas market.
Starting from 2018 and until now, ANRE has started or carried out a number of 68 investigations on participants in the wholesale electricity and natural gas market (producers, traders and suppliers of electricity and natural gas, transport operator and system in electricity sector), license holders, who carry out activities on the wholesale energy market. Of these, 49 investigations have been completed so far.
Mainly, the object and purpose of the investigative actions consisted in verifying the way in which the participants in the wholesale electricity and natural gas market complied or comply with the provisions of Regulation (EU) no. 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 25, 2011 regarding the integrity and transparency of the wholesale energy market (REMIT). A priority emphasis was placed on compliance with art. 5 of this normative act, according to which “it is prohibited to manipulate or attempt to manipulate the market on wholesale energy markets”.
In the electricity sector, fines of 13 million lei were given to 20 companies, after the completion of 36 investigations aimed at market manipulation.
Among the fined companies are MET Romania, Petosolar, Qmb Energ, Nova Power and Gas, Aderro, A Energy Inds, EFT Furnizare, Transformer, Electromagnetica, Monsson, Alive Capital.
In the gas sector, fines of 2 million lei in total were given to the companies E.ON Energie, E.ON Gaz Furnizare, Tinmar, Premier Energy.
Most of the sanctions were applied for violating the provisions of art. 5 of Regulation (EU) no. 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 25, 2011 regarding the integrity and transparency of the wholesale energy market (REMIT), respectively the manipulation of the wholesale electricity or natural gas market, as a result of transactions made with quantities of electricity or natural gas on OPCOM platforms, considered wash trades.
In 2022, ANRE is currently analyzing/conducting investigations on a number of 19 participants in the wholesale energy market suspected of market manipulation (suppliers, traders), of which 14 in the electricity sector and 5 in the natural gas sector.
Starting from 2020, the sanctions applied by ANRE have increased, so that participants in the wholesale electricity and natural gas market who manipulate or attempt to manipulate the wholesale energy market can be fined in the amount of 5-10% of the annual sales figure.
The sums related to the sanctions applied by ANRE are fully constituted as income to the state budget.
At the same time, ANRE’s investigative activity is carried out in close collaboration and cooperation with the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulatory Authorities – ACER.