text: The second workshop under the study on designing a carbon pricing mechanism for the Energy Community took place today.
  At today’s session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Energy and Utilities Committee will review drafts aimed at implementing the Memorandum of Understanding developed in the mediation process under the Energy Community Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre. The signature of the Memorandum ending the dispute between two main associations of renewable investors and the Ukrainian Government on 10 June 2020 within the mediation process is an important achievement. It is now important to transpose correctly the Memorandum on terms agreed with the investors into a legislative act still before the summer break.
  Today’s Energy Community Sustainability Forum underlined that it is high time to translate political and legal commitments into concrete actions to drive the decarbonisation of the energy systems. The virtual Forum gathered Ministers and Deputy Ministers responsible for energy, environment and climate change of the Energy Community Contracting Parties, high-level officials of the European Commission, EU Member States and Contracting Parties as well as representatives of academia, civil society and non-governmental organisations.
  On 23 June, the Parliament of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a Declaration on the Protection of Rivers, as a response to several conflicts with local communities due to low-quality environmental impact assessments for existing small hydropower plants. Furthermore, the Parliament also adopted conclusions calling for a prohibition of the construction of small hydro power plants on the territory of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  The Advisory Committee of the Energy Community will hold a public hearing on case ECS-13/17 against Serbia according to Article 32(4) of the Dispute Settlement Rules. The hearing will take place on 29 June 2020 at 10:00 a.m. CEST as a remote video conference.
  Today, the Energy Community Distribution System Operators for Electricity (ECDSO-E) launched a position paper on the quality of service. The position paper, focusing on power outages, voltage quality and customer care and services, outlines recommendations to improve electricity quality regulation at the level of the Contracting Parties and their harmonization at the Energy Community level. The paper aims to trigger discussions on these issues with national regulatory authorities and other stakeholders.
  On 23 June, the first stakeholder meeting to support Moldova in the development of a methodology for smart meter rollout took place under the framework of the EU4Energy project. Smart meters measure the exact use of energy by consumers and send the information automatically to the energy supplier. They allow consumers to better manage their energy use, save money and reduce emissions.
  25th Energy Community Electricity Forum calls for accelerated energy transition in the Contracting Parties
  The 25th Energy Community Electricity Forum highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, together with the decrease in the cost of renewables and the general orientation of European and international energy policies, provides an opportunity for an accelerated energy transition towards decarbonisation in the Contracting Parties. This opportunity should not be missed.
  Today, the Energy Community Secretariat launched a public consultation on the integration of renewables self-consumers into the energy networks. The Guidelines reflect the latest legal requirements stemming from the EU’s Clean Energy Package, soon to be adopted in the Energy Community. Their purpose it to provide advice to policy-makers in the Contracting Parties on the development of national legal and regulatory frameworks conducive to renewable self-consumption and empowering final customers to actively participate in the self-consumption of renewable energy.
  The legislative observatory of national secondary legislation has been updated to cover the latest legislative changes in all Contracting Parties. The observatory now includes secondary gas and electricity legislation for all eight Contracting Parties that have transposed the Third Energy Package and lists all national bodies involved in the drafting and adoption of the legal acts. For the first time, it also covers climate change. In total, more than 800 secondary legal acts and other national documents have been assessed by the Secretariat.
  Today, the Secretariat hosted a workshop dedicated to district heating. The workshop is the first event under the Secretariat’s new initiative to create a network to support efficient heating in the Energy Community. The network will prepare district heating companies for measures stemming from the EU Clean Energy for all European Package. The meeting gathered 50 stakeholders, including representatives of ministries, district heating companies, donors and international financial institutions to share their knowledge and experience with respect to the different challenges and opportunities linked to district heating system operation.
  On 9 June, EU4Energy Governance launched a technical assistance project to assist Ukraine in the transposition of the Oil Stocks Directive 2009/119/EU. Over the next few months, representatives of the Verkhovna Rada, the State Reserve Agency and the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine will work with Energy Community Secretariat experts on elaborating the secondary legislation needed for the implementation of the oil stocks reform.
  Today, the Secretariat published Policy Guidelines on measurement in the gas distribution network. The Guidelines, based on the relevant Energy Community acquis and best EU Member States practice, outline the legal basis for individual meters and smart metering and best practices with respect to the required unit conversions for measurement of gas delivery at the distribution level. They also cover billing and the customers’ right to access consumption and metering data.
  The Advisory Committee has amended its Rules of Procedure by introducing a possibility to carry out public hearings as remote video proceedings under exceptional circumstances such as the current pandemic. This will enable parties to a dispute settlement case to present their arguments in front of the Advisory Committee as well as interested members of the public to participate remotely.
  A pending decision by the national energy regulator of Ukraine, NEURC, may withdraw an earlier decision to increase the gas distribution tariffs in Ukraine. Without distribution tariffs set at an adequate level, unauthorised offtakes of natural gas will persist, impairing the financial stability of the new transmission system operator and putting gas sector reforms at risk.
  Today, the Secretariat launched the first edition of the Energy Community Dispute Resolution Review. The review will share insights into the world of energy disputes and alternative dispute resolution. This issue features our analysis of investor-state dispute settlement post Achmea and the Singapore Convention on Mediation and shares the experience of the Secretariat’s Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre.
  The Energy Community Secretariat participated in a video conference dedicated to presenting a set of recommendations on the harmonization of Moldova’s legislation with key EU climate directives and an action plan to achieve this goal developed by experts contracted by EU4Climate and the Secretariat.
  In the course of the year, the Secretariat is frequently asked by different stakeholders of the Contracting Parties for its opinion on compliance of particular provisions of national laws and secondary legal acts with the Energy Community acquis.