The National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) made an appeal to the consumer protection associations to cooperate with a view to stepping up the protection of energy consumers’ rights. The appeal was made public at a meeting of decision makers of the regulatory authorities and representatives of consumer protection associations earlier this week. The ANRE director Anatol Burlacov said that the Agency wants to actively and efficiently cooperate with all the associations, especially in informing the consumers about their rights and obligations, about how to solve the disputes that appear between them and the energy suppliers. According to the ANRE’s press service, for this purpose the Agency has drafted an agreement of cooperation with the consumer protection associations, which contains a qualitatively new cooperation mechanism, particularly as regards the planning and organization of joint activities for informing the consumers, discussing the regulatory bills that concern consumers’ interests, other activities of common interest. The ANRE director said that the agreement is open to all the public consumer protection organizations, stressing that the Agency will examine all the proposals to modify and amend the document submitted by them. Beside other duties stipulated in the legislation in operation, ANRE is to protect the rights of the consumers of electric energy, thermal energy and natural gas. The Agency deals with the intimations of the consumers and solves the ones that are within its competence. It settles the disputes that appear between consumers and energy suppliers.