Romania would become the first country in the world to impose government control and a hidden tax on citizens’ private energy equipment, violating four European directives, if it adopts the draft law on mandatory and paid cyber auditing for prosumers, believes the Association of Prosumers and Energy Communities in Romania.

„The Association of Energy Prosumers and Communities in Romania (APCE) draws attention to the fact that this project is not related to cybersecurity, but to the economic interests of companies that would win huge contracts for auditing inverters. Romania would thus become the first country in the world to impose government control and a hidden tax on citizens’ private energy equipment, violating not only 4 European Directives but also the principles of the European single market and the fundamental rights of photovoltaic system owners,” the organization said in a statement.

According to APCE, a group of 25 parliamentarians initiated a „2-in-1” bill: mandatory cyber audit of all inverters in Romania, carried out by the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC), an institution without competence in the energy field, and limitation of daytime production of prosumers. This is the second attempt to introduce a mandatory and paid cyber audit for prosumers, after the one rejected last year and initiated by the Ministry of Energy.

„In other words, instead of auditing large photovoltaic parks – the real possible vulnerable points for the national energy system – it is proposed to check, for a fee, over 260,000 prosumers and 330,000 inverters of at least 77 brands and 4,000 different models. An impossible, expensive and absurd mission,” claims the quoted source.

In this context, the Prosumers Association draws attention to the fact that this initiative massively discourages investments in green energy and risks blocking Romania’s energy transition.

„Romania must not become a laboratory of legislative experiments dictated by emotion or group interests. We firmly oppose the transformation of an IT show into a national energy policy. Prosumers are partners of the green transition, not enemies of the state,” he declared.

The Association of Energy Prosumers and Communities in Romania has already transmitted its official position to Parliament and all responsible institutions, requesting the rejection of this abusive initiative and a return to a rational approach, based on public interest, not on alarmist scenarios, the press release also reads.AGERPRES