Committee continues review of draft laws with Rizvanolli, opposition boycotts meeting

Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli reported to the Committee on Economy, Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation on the Draft Law on Energy Efficiency and the Draft Law on the Energy Regulator. The meeting continued even though opposition MPs had objected to the inclusion of the second item on the agenda.

According to opposition MPs, the inclusion of the Draft Law on the Energy Regulator had not been done properly, because the document had been sent to them less than 24 hours before the meeting and they had not had enough time to analyze it. They did not take part in the rest of the meeting, while the committee continued with the minister’s reporting.

Rizvanolli said the Draft Law on Energy Efficiency aims to improve the legal basis for the efficient use of energy in Kosovo and to align it with European legislation. She said an annual saving of 0.8 percent of the average final energy consumption of the previous three years is envisaged, starting from the first full calendar year after the law enters into force.

Rizvanolli: Energy efficiency draft law improves the legal framework

“The draft law on energy efficiency advances the legal framework for the efficient use of energy in the Republic of Kosovo. I will dwell only on some issues that are most important and that I consider innovations in this law. National objectives and mechanisms for achieving savings are defined here through the national energy and climate plan and the sector’s strategic documents, ensuring a more coordinated approach between planning and implementation of measures. To achieve these objectives, annual savings of 0.8 percent of average final energy consumption over the previous three years are envisaged, starting from the first full calendar year after the entry into force of the law. And this is in line with what we have already done as practice and with the investments already being made in energy efficiency in the Republic of Kosovo. The exemplary role of the public sector in building renovation and procurement is also important. An annual renovation of at least 3 percent of the total usable floor area of buildings that are heated or cooled, owned by public institutions and larger than 250 square meters, is envisaged,” Rizvanolli stressed.

The minister added that the draft law includes energy poverty and vulnerable consumers in support policies and programs. It also creates a basis for restricting the sale of inefficient products on the market.

Rizvanolli: Energy poverty is included in support policies and programs

“The draft law requires the inclusion of high energy performance in public procurement, so that we do not need to address efficiency as much. The inclusion of energy poverty in support policies and programs is something new in this law compared with the previous efficiency law. Any adjustments between the two laws can be handled between the two readings, but the principle is the same: energy poverty and vulnerable consumers have a greater role, or more precisely, a greater focus in this package of laws…. Whereas until now we have been able to inform citizens or subsidize the purchase of efficient appliances compared with inefficient ones, we have not had a mechanism that bans the sale of inefficient products on the market. If we start with the most basic and easiest things, inefficient lighting, compared with efficient LED lighting, consumes many times more, so it is inefficient consumption, while the price difference between an LED bulb and an inefficient bulb is very small. So this is something that will not have a large cost for citizens,” Rizvanolli stressed.

Vetëvendosje MP Valon Ramadani asked that citizens have an easier time applying for subsidies from the Energy Efficiency Fund. He focused especially on cases where an on-site assessment is needed to determine whether an applicant meets the conditions.

Ramadani calls for easier subsidy applications

“When there are funds from the energy efficiency fund allocated for subsidies, there should be an easier way to apply, especially where someone has to go and assess which applicant qualifies and can win this grant. Have you thought about this as a ministry?” Ramadani said.

In response, Rizvanolli said the implementation of previous measures had revealed shortcomings. Among them, she mentioned cases in which energy auditors had demanded high fees for audits, as well as attempts to present houses that had already been insulated as eligible for subsidies.

She announced that the new draft law provides for punitive measures against auditors who abuse their responsibilities.

Rizvanolli: Draft law provides penalties for auditors who misuse their duties

“In this regard, during the implementation of past efficiency measures, we have seen certain practices and drawn lessons that are partly addressed by this law. For example, one of them was — you mentioned energy audits — and one of the issues we encountered through citizens’ complaints is that energy auditors misused the situation and the urgency of energy audits to demand very high prices, or there were cases of attempted fraud by auditors to present houses that had already been insulated. Fortunately, all of these have been checked and eliminated; we saw that the weakness in the current legal framework was that there was no mechanism to penalize these auditors. Now this has been fixed,” Rizvanolli said.

Vetëvendosje Movement MP Ejup Ahmeti asked whether the possibility of taxing appliances with high energy consumption had been considered.

Ahmeti asks about taxing appliances that consume more energy

“Appliances that consume energy and those that save energy, we will focus on those that save energy. Have you thought about putting into the law and coordinating with other ministries, for example, to first tax appliances that consume energy, and then favor appliances that do not save energy?” Ahmeti said.

Rizvanolli replied that the draft law creates a legal basis for public institutions, when procuring, to set criteria in favor of appliances and solutions with high energy performance.

The minister also presented the changes brought by the Draft Law on the Energy Regulator, saying the aim is to strengthen consumer protection.

Rizvanolli: New draft law strengthens consumer protection

“The new draft law strengthens consumer protection. More precisely, it defines in more detail the regulator’s responsibilities for monitoring quality, supply, power outages, billing and respect for consumer rights. This is because from our experience, whether as a minister or, I believe, you as MPs, the main complaints from citizens are precisely on these points, which in fact are not political issues but issues of market regulation and market monitoring. Therefore the aim is for the regulator in the future to have more and more detailed powers in monitoring, but also in addressing consumer complaints specifically on supply, billing and the issues about which we mainly receive complaints,” Rizvanolli said.

She also mentioned the simplification of licensing for certain capacities, including energy storage systems and self-generation installations that are not connected to the grid, up to one megawatt. On the other hand, stricter checks will be applied to applicants for permits.

Rizvanolli: Draft law aims to prevent market manipulation

“What is new is that the draft law regulates the monitoring and prevention of market manipulation and trading based on inside information, and provides for the registration and oversight of market participants. This reflects the latest developments in the European electricity market and the regulations there aimed at fighting market manipulation. It is also important that there are some changes regarding the licensing and supervision of energy companies. On one hand, there are some facilitations in licensing procedures by exempting from the obligation to obtain a permit, among others, energy storage systems and self-generation installations behind the meter, meaning those not connected to the grid, with a capacity of up to 1 megawatt… But on the other hand, while there are such facilitations for small capacities, the draft law provides for stronger control over permit applicants,” Rizvanolli added.