The Distribuţie Oltenia operator (DEO) denies, in a response sent to Energynomics, the veracity of the claims of the prosumers’ association (APCE), according to which it is abusing its monopoly and, together with another distributor, wants “total control over Romanians’ inverters”. Furthermore, DEO officials point out that following the verification of a number of 460 inverters, it was found that 276 of them (60%) did not have the mandatory protections required by law correctly implemented.
“The Distribuţie Oltenia operator emphasizes that the claims do not reflect reality. Distribution operators, including DEO, do not request access to prosumers’ personal data or “total control” over their equipment. The targeted access concerns exclusively the technical parameters of the inverters connected to the public grid, necessary to verify compliance with technical and contractual requirements”, Evryo and DEO officials told us.
“The purpose of the intervention is not one of supervision or limitation of production, but of the safety and stability of the electrical grid. Access is requested only punctually and justified, in situations such as: verifying technical values when there are signals regarding compliance with parameters, analyzing complaints received, confirming compliance with the obligations in the connection contract”, they also said.
“Moreover, by verifying the inverter settings, DEO strictly monitored the correct implementation by the installers of the protections specified in ANRE order no. 132/2020. Following the verification of a number of 460 inverters, it was found that 276 of them (60%) did not correctly implement the mandatory protections mentioned in the previously specified order. The non-conformities were sent through notifications to the installers to parameterize them accordingly, DEO not modifying the settings in the inverters during the checks. In conclusion, the purpose of the intervention is strictly technical and legal, derived from the obligations that both the distribution operator and the prosumers have for the proper functioning of the network. More precisely, the intervention in the inverters aims to comply with the technical regulations and protect the network, for the benefit of all users, not to monitor or limit the production of the prosumers”, DEO officials also told us.
The Association of Prosumers and Energy Communities (APCE) announced on Monday to the specialized press that it is publicly denouncing an unprecedented abuse committed by two distribution operators – Delgaz Grid and Distribuție Energie Oltenia (DEO). “Starting at the end of August, they sent notifications to the installers of photovoltaic systems by which the connection of the prosumers to the network is abusively conditioned by providing access with a user and password to the IT platforms of the photovoltaic system inverters. In short, the operators want to enter “through the back door” through installers into the homes of Romanians who want to become prosumers: to gain total control over private equipment, to be able to make modifications or additions without the owners’ consent and outside of any legal basis. The reason given: Protection of the networks, which they should have controlled through automation and assumed improvements, which they did not make”, the APCE representatives stated on Monday.
They accused the distributors a priori and without any evidence that “by abusive access to Romanians’ inverters, the distribution operators could intentionally reduce photovoltaic production precisely during peak hours and limit the injection of surplus energy into the network. The direct consequence: prosumers would be forced to buy energy from the networks, without knowing it”, as stated in the APCE press release.
