“In renewable energy we do not show that we have learned anything from the mistakes made in the first wave of renewable investments. The legislation has not been amended correctly! The Ministry of Energy understands things, the Ministry of Finance does not – when they apply retroactive overtaxation of producers!!! We should take a step back!” said Martin Moise, First Vice-President of PATRES, at the second edition of Romanian Green PPA, the event dedicated to trading energy through PPA contracts.
The Romanian state risks paying the investors who initiated international arbitrations sums higher than the two to three billion dollars circulated in the case of Roșia Montană, according to Moise. “Look how many billions come from the area of renewables, which Romania will have to pay, and which will be decided this year and next year, somehow in the same way as in the case of Roșia Montană – the state did not do well what it made. Maybe the payment note will be even higher than in that case which is, perhaps, of greater notoriety”, he stated, according to Invest Energy.
PATRES recently announced that it has decided to go to court to defend the interests of its member companies. Through this approach, PATRES allies itself with a large number of operators in the renewables sector who are already in litigation with the state, being seriously affected by legal provisions that apply retroactively.
Why don’t we have PPA in Romania? Martin Moise stated: “One explanation is that there was no need. In Romania, in the last 30 years, when there was a crisis, the consumer was protected. And then what interest would the consumer have in protecting himself through a PPA-type contract, as long as the Government comes up with measures to limit the price of energy. Another explanation is the chaotic way we do things. Taxing producers, supporting prosumers – they had to be done, but within certain limits. What did the state do on the transaction side? The trading manufacturer is at a loss now. What confidence should investors have that in the next 10 years, when a crisis will repeat itself because things are cyclical, the situation will not be the same as it is now? The state taxed virtual transactions, did not recognize them!”
Power Purchase Agreements – PPA comes and provides a guarantee for the producer but also for the consumer, it creates a balance between the parties.