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Regulating district heating in Romania: Legislative challenges and energy efficiency barriers

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  • Poputoaia, Diana
  • Bouzarovski, Stefan

Abstract

Many states in Eastern and Central Europe (ECE) possess extensive district heating (DH) networks that were constructed during the days of communist rule in order to provide a universally accessible energy service that supported Soviet development policies. But the post-communist transition was marked by the exacerbation of the sector's numerous technical, economic, regulatory and environmental problems, accompanied by its abandonment in favour of alternative methods of domestic heating. Recent efforts to increase the use of DH in ECE as a result of environmental and energy security concerns have taken place in an absence of critical, context-sensitive research. The purpose of this paper is to explore the legal aspects of post-communist DH reforms in Romania, with the aim of identifying some of the governance challenges faced by state authorities in managing the sector. In broader terms, we seek to explore the extent to which the Romanian legislative framework is in a position to promote energy efficiency in DH. This has been achieved via an analysis of formal policy documents, government decrees, strategic documents and laws pertaining to this sector, as published and subsequently amended in the Official Gazette. The conclusions of the paper identify the key regulatory issues in the sector--especially with respect to the tariff setting process and the division of competences among different organisations in it--while suggesting a set of policy steps and general restructuring approaches that could help overcome the current situation.

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  • Poputoaia, Diana & Bouzarovski, Stefan, 2010. "Regulating district heating in Romania: Legislative challenges and energy efficiency barriers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3820-3829, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:38:y:2010:i:7:p:3820-3829
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    2. Gorroño-Albizu, Leire & de Godoy, Jaqueline, 2021. "Getting fair institutional conditions for district heating consumers: Insights from Denmark and Sweden," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    3. Diana Korsakaite & Darius Bieksa & Egle Bieksiene, 2018. "Third-party access in district heating: Lithuanian case analysis," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, , vol. 19(3-4), pages 218-241, September.
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    6. Mihai Ludovic DEMETER & Cleopatra SENDROIU & Florin CAZACU, 2018. "District Heating In Romania - A Choice Of Equality Or Equity," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(1), pages 951-956, November.
    7. Connolly, D. & Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V. & Werner, S. & Möller, B. & Persson, U. & Boermans, T. & Trier, D. & Østergaard, P.A. & Nielsen, S., 2014. "Heat Roadmap Europe: Combining district heating with heat savings to decarbonise the EU energy system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 475-489.
    8. Brown, Alastair & Foley, Aoife & Laverty, David & McLoone, Seán & Keatley, Patrick, 2022. "Heating and cooling networks: A comprehensive review of modelling approaches to map future directions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    9. Iacobescu, Flavius & Badescu, Viorel, 2011. "Metamorphoses of cogeneration-based district heating in Romania: A case study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 269-280, January.
    10. Saska Petrova & Michael Gentile & Ilkka Henrik Mäkinen & Stefan Bouzarovski, 2013. "Perceptions of Thermal Comfort and Housing Quality: Exploring the Microgeographies of Energy Poverty in Stakhanov, Ukraine," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(5), pages 1240-1257, May.
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    12. Tirado Herrero, Sergio & Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana, 2012. "Trapped in the heat: A post-communist type of fuel poverty," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 60-68.
    13. Septimiu-Rare? SZABO, 2013. "Decentralisation In The Context Of Multi-Level Governance: Study Case - Romania," Proceedings of Administration and Public Management International Conference, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 9(1), pages 92-103, June.
    14. Zhang, Junli & Ge, Bin & Xu, Hongsheng, 2013. "An equivalent marginal cost-pricing model for the district heating market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1224-1232.
    15. Alexandru Maxim & Costică Mihai & Constantin-Marius Apostoaie & Cristian Popescu & Costel Istrate & Ionel Bostan, 2016. "Implications and Measurement of Energy Poverty across the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-20, May.
    16. Büchele, Richard & Kranzl, Lukas & Hummel, Marcus, 2017. "What is the impact of the policy framework on the future of district heating in Eastern European countries? The case of Brasov," MPRA Paper 93225, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Kozarcanin, S. & Hanna, R. & Staffell, I. & Gross, R. & Andresen, G.B., 2020. "Impact of climate change on the cost-optimal mix of decentralised heat pump and gas boiler technologies in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    18. Ye, Xuemin & Li, Chunxi, 2013. "A novel evaluation of heat-electricity cost allocation in cogenerations based on entropy change method," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 290-295.
    19. Bouzarovski, Stefan & Simcock, Neil, 2017. "Spatializing energy justice," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 640-648.
    20. Koďousková, Hedvika & Bořuta, Dominik, 2022. "Energy poverty in Slovakia: Officially defined, but misrepresented in major policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    21. Li, Hailong & Sun, Qie & Zhang, Qi & Wallin, Fredrik, 2015. "A review of the pricing mechanisms for district heating systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 56-65.
    22. Stefan Bouzarovski & Saska Petrova & Sergio Tirado-Herrero, 2014. "From Fuel Poverty to Energy Vulnerability: The Importance of Services, Needs and Practices," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-25, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    23. Colmenar-Santos, Antonio & Rosales-Asensio, Enrique & Borge-Diez, David & Mur-Pérez, Francisco, 2015. "Cogeneration and district heating networks: Measures to remove institutional and financial barriers that restrict their joint use in the EU-28," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 403-414.
    24. Dorota Chwieduk & Wojciech Bujalski & Bartosz Chwieduk, 2020. "Possibilities of Transition from Centralized Energy Systems to Distributed Energy Sources in Large Polish Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-23, November.

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