The transition from net metering to net billing and the challenges related to the development of renewable energy sources were at the center of public consultations held in Parliament on Friday. The discussions were organized by the Committee on Economy, Budget and Finance, with the participation of authorities, energy suppliers, prosumers and other energy market players, IPN reports.
“We wanted to have this discussion to better understand how the market is functioning after the latest legislative changes and what we can adjust to support the sustainable development of the renewable energy sector,” said committee chairman Radu Marian. He noted that although the share of green energy has increased from 3% in 2020 to more than 20% today, challenges remain related to grid capacity, lack of storage solutions and the risk of overproduction.
Carolina Novac, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Energy, explained that the amendments to Law 10/2016, which entered into force in November 2023, introduced net metering as a response to imbalances in the system. “The mechanism is intended to cover the beneficiary’s own consumption, not to generate revenue. Raising the cap to 10kW for households is an important step towards encouraging self-consumption,” she stressed. At the same time, the authorities are looking into the possibility of introducing subsidies for storage solutions such as biogas.
Among the prosumers present, Tamara Zgardan signaled that the transition has significantly diminished the financial benefits for household users. “I invested in photovoltaic panels hoping for a significant reduction in my bills, but the current system returns only a small part of the energy delivered to the grid,” she said. Other participants asked for clarifications on how the cap is calculated and for a better correlation between household consumption and investments in equipment.
Energy distributor representatives argued that change was inevitable to maintain system stability and called for long-term solutions, including the development of smart meters and the introduction of time-differentiated tariffs. They also talked about the potential of energy communities as a solution for surplus energy utilization and efficient grid management.
The consultations have confirmed that the transition to a modern energy system based on renewable sources is underway, but requires legislative, technical and social adaptations. The authorities promise to continue the dialog so that public policies respond to the real needs of all those involved in Moldova’s energy transformation.
