On March 5, 2024, the Ministry of Energy held a public consultation on the draft law on innovative energy regulatory test spaces.

The main aim of the document is to stimulate innovations in the energy sector by providing companies with a special regime of activity for a period of seven years.

In order to test innovative solutions, companies will be granted exemptions from certain provisions of the regulatory framework in the fields of energy, spatial planning, construction, mining, environmental protection, nature conservation, water management, cultural heritage protection, installation, operation and connection of electricity generation facilities, as well as from tax procedure rules.

It will encourage the adoption of innovative solutions and support the development of renewable electricity generation, the optimization of its storage and the adoption of advanced alternative solutions for energy supply, distribution or consumption.

"Innovative testing projects in the energy sector are necessary because many solutions have not even been thought of or needed until now, but are related to new challenges for the energy system," said Victor Parlicov, Minister of Energy.

"Given that by 2050 almost half of the CO2 emission reductions are expected to come from technologies that are not yet available on the market, major innovation efforts need to be made in this decade. But innovative solutions often involve higher risks, which is a challenge for a risk-sensitive sector focused on reliability of supply for consumers," the official added.

The draft law is developed with the support of UNDP Moldova and with funding from Denmark, Luxembourg, the Republic of Korea and Sweden.

"The energy sector is changing rapidly to achieve national decarbonization goals by 2050. UNDP is proud to have supported the development of the draft law on Energy Regulatory Innovation Test Spaces that enable the testing and scaling up of innovative solutions in Moldova's energy sector. So-called 'sandboxes' will streamline research and development, technological innovation, and informed policy development and decision-making," said Andrea Cuzyova, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Moldova.

Innovative testing projects will be able to make activities such as:

development of flexibility services for network stability;
reducing environmental impact;
developing new approaches to capacity charging to influence consumer behavior;
demand and supply aggregation;
integrating energy storage into the energy sector;
managing local energy communities.
The Innovative Test Space will be authorized for a period of up to seven years, with the possibility of a justified extension for a further period of up to five years.

The draft law is to be finalized and proposed for adoption by Parliament.

Subsequently, with UNDP support, secondary legislation will be drafted and support will be provided for institutionalization and implementation of a pilot project.

At the same time, among the first innovative testing initiatives with a derogation from the current legislation will be the application of differentiated day-night electricity tariffs for household consumers who will install smart meters, as part of a pilot project supported by UNDP Moldova and Italy.