Olivier Descamps says EBRD will help Moldova raise its energy efficiency
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will be backing Moldova in its efforts to improve the national economy's energy efficiency. The Memorandum of accords between the Government of Moldova and the EBRD on an Action Plan to achieve energy efficiency in Moldova was signed on Friday by the Deputy Premier, Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar and Olivier Descamps, the EBRD Managing Director for Turkey, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Europe, who is completing his 3-day working visit to this republic today.
The high guest said at a news conference here that the Memorandum signature is called to raise Moldova's energy security and to ensure a more efficient using of available energy resources.
The EBRD Managing Director said the Action Plan envisages the creating of a legislative mechanism that would ensure a more efficient energy system and the revealing and using of various renewable energy sources.
Valeriu Lazar welcomed the EBRD's readiness to back Moldova in such an essential sphere, and stressed that the Bank's political and consultative support is equally important for Moldova as its financial assistance.
The Moldovan Deputy Premier said an energy market is not something local. This is a global mechanism, so it is very important for Moldova to harmonize its profiled national legislation with international standards in the given field.
Lazar stressed that the Memorandum signature at the present moment was not at all incidental because the Republic of Moldova is now presiding in the Energy Community Treaty (ECT), and because "2011 shall become an Energy Year for the Republic of Moldova".
He underlined that in the Action Plan to build up energy efficiency, Moldova has set itself a very ambitious objective: to ensure energy efficiency of existing main edifices and make would-be buildings really energy saving units. In his opinion, the republic lags behind considerably in this sphere.
Infotag's dossier: On October 25, 2005 the European Union as well as the representatives of Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia & Montenegro, and Kosovo signed in the Athens a Treaty on establishing the Energy Community of South East European Countries, currently known as the Energy Community Treaty. The document was put into effect on July 1, 2006.
It stipulates that ECT member countries shall be gradually introducing the EU legislation in the fields of electricity, natural gas, competition, energy supply security, investment protection and the development of renewable energy sources. The ECT countries must have opened their national markets of electricity and natural gas for foreign companies from 1 January 2008, and from 1 January 2015 must liberalize the markets for their retail consumers as well.
According to recent amendments to the local legislation, the Moldovan electricity market liberalization is to be commenced from January 1, 2015. Besides this, in conformity with the ECT requirements, Moldova has adopted its National Strategy of Energy Sector Development for a period ending in 2020.
The Republic of Moldova became a full-right member of the Energy Community Treaty in March 2010, though the ECT Council of Ministers approved Moldova's participation in the Treaty as an observer yet in 2006. After three rounds of talks, in December 2009 the Council approved accepting the republic into the ECT ranks, though requested to adopt a number of energy documents without delay. By February 2010, Moldova had met all its ECT commitments, in particular, passed Laws on electricity and natural gas.
.jpg)
Comments