The newest European legislation in the sphere of the interior markets of electricity and natural gas have been reflected in the passed by the parliament changes of the Energy Act. Reflecting the requirements of the Third Legislative Package on Energy Liberalization, the document gives special attention to the measures for the protection of the final clients. The contracts between them and the energy companies mandatory need to contain information regarding the client rights, including the conditions for unilateral cancellation of the contract from the consumer, the opportunity for changing the energy supplier, the conditions and order for interception and renewal of amounts in case of not upholding the quality of the contracted services, as well as the procedure for viewing and passing of complaints.
The law ensures the opportunity for every client to choose their supplier, as well as every supplier to reach to their potential clients by offering them energy on competitive prices. This is achieved through the legislative ensuring of equal access to the networks – the electrical and gas.
A main highlight of the Energy Act is the ensuring of the independence of the operators, which will be owners of the networks for the transport of electricity and natural gas from the activities of production to the supplying of energy. They will create and annually update 10 year plans for the development of the transportation networks.
The changes to the Energy Act will increase the powers of the national energy regulator, make easier and encourage cross-border trade with energy and cross-border cooperation and investments, increase the transparency of the market regarding the network operation and supply, as well as increase the protection of the interests of the consumers.