Energy, Water Services and Municipal Waste Management Services Regulatory Commission (ERC)

• Joined ERRA in 2004

• Established in 2003

Responsibilities

• Legal basis/ mandate
• Energy Law (The Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 96/2018 and Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia No.96/2019 and 236/2022). Law on setting water services tariffs (The Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 7/2016).

• Responsibilities
• In exercising its competence, the Energy Regulatory Commission: 1) Adopts: rulebooks, rules and methodologies for regulated energy activities on the following: pricing, tariffs, licenses issuing, certification of energy transmission system operator and natural gas transmission system operator, manner and procedure for monitoring the functioning of energy markets, granting a status of closed system for distribution of electricity, closed system for distribution of natural gas and a combined operator for transmission and distribution of natural gas, complaints and resolving disputes. 2) Issues: decisions on prices and tariffs for regulated energy activities and decisions on the highest selling prices of oil derivatives and transport fuels; on using a preferential electricity tariff; on exemption from the obligation to provide third party access to the lines and infrastructure for transmission of electricity and natural gas, acquiring the temporary status of preferential producer that uses a preferential tariff and a status of preferential producer that uses a preferential tariff; on entry in the register of foreign traders and electricity and natural gas suppliers and for changing, transferring, extension, suspending, seizure and termination of licenses for performing certain activities in the field of energy and for issuing a temporary license; as well as a methodology and criteria used to evaluate investments and risks in electrical energy and gas infrastructure projects that are of mutual interest of the contracting parties and/or participants in the Energy Community Treaty, and publish the indicators and relevant reference values for comparison of the investment costs. 3) Approves: grid codes; rules for balancing for of electricity and natural gas transmission systems, coordination and mechanisms for exchange of information, for purchasing of electricity and natural gas for covering the losses in the transmission and distribution systems, allocation of cross-border transmission capacities for electricity and managing congestions, operation of an organized electricity market, for allocation of transmission capacities for natural gas and management of congestions, for submission of information from the participants in the electricity market to the electricity transmission system operator; plans for reducing losses in the electricity and natural gas distribution systems, for purchasing of electricity and natural gas for covering the losses in the transmission and distribution systems, maintenance plans and investment plans for the development of transmission and distribution systems, compliance programs, appointment of the compliance officer and compliance officer’s report for the implementation of the compliance plans. 4) Establishes and keeps: – a Register of preferential electricity producers using a preferential tariff and – a Register of foreign traders and suppliers of electricity and natural gas that can perform energy activity in the Republic of Macedonia. 5) With the new Law on Setting Prices of Water Services and Amendments of the Energy Law, from January 2016, new competences in the field of regulating prices of water services, i.e., setting up tariffs for the supply of drinking water, collection, and disposal of urban wastewaters, as well as wastewater treatment.

• Authorities
• • Independence: Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission is an independent authority regarding the operation and decision-making process within the scope of competencies prescribed by the Energy Law.
• • Supervised by: The operation of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission is supervised by the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia.
• • Reports to: By 30th of April in the current year the latest, Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission submits to the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia the Annual report on its operation for the previous year for adoption. ERC submits its Annual report to the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Ministry, for information purposes. On the request from the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia or the Minister, ERC submits other reports and information pertaining to the field of operation of the ERC and relevant for the performance of matters falling under the Government and the Ministry as stipulated by the Energy Law.
• • Appeal process: The operation and adoption of acts of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic of North Macedonia is regulated with the Law on Energy, other by-laws as well as the Statute and its Rules of Procedure. ERC’s acts are published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia”, as well as in ERC’s web page: www.erc.org.mk. ERC’s acts must be completely explained, justified and based on objective and transparent criteria. The acts that are adopted by the ERC are obligatory and directly applicable and they cannot be subject to veto or to a revision from another state authority. Taking into consideration ERC’s independence in adopting acts and ERC’s independence in general, only the authorized court has the right to suspend ERC’s acts

Organisational Structure

• Organigram
• 

• Internal Structure
• The members and the President of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission upon the proposal of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia are appointed and dismissed by the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, having in mind the adequate and equitable representation of the members of all communities. The President and the members of the board are appointed for a term of 5 years with the right of re-appointment for another mandate. The function of a member of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission is performed professionally and is incompatible with the performance of another public function or function in a political party or workplace. .

• Working Employees
• • Decision-Making Level: 7 Commissioners
• • Total Number of Employees: 37 Employees

• Budget
• ERC has its own budget and complete autonomy in its execution. ERC’s activities are financed by compensation for license issuing, payment of annual fee from license holders, payment of compensation from the water service tariff determination procedure, a separate annual fee from water service providers. Every year by 31 October at the latest, the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission is obliged to submit to the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia a proposed financial plan of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission for the next year for adoption, which lists all the incomes and expenditures of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission, including the salaries of the members in the ERC and the employed staff. The Assembly of North Macedonia adopts the proposal financial plan and with a decision determines the rate of the annual fee, which cannot be higher than 0.1 % from the revenues of the license holders for performing energy activity and for foreign companies that perform energy activity in the Republic of North Macedonia and which cannot be higher than 0.1 % for the water services providers generated from the provision of water services, calculated according to the data from the Central Registry of the Republic of North Macedonia.

• Annual Report 2022
• More Annual Reports >>