6,371 green certificates were traded in January

The number of green certificates traded in January 2017 on the Green Certificates Centralized Market (PCCV) amounted to 6,371 units, a figure seven times bigger than that of the similar period last year, when 906 units were traded, according to data released by OPCOM, Romania's electricity and natural gas market operator.

In January, 56 sales offers and seven buying offers were launched, at a price of 132.404 lei per certificate.

Last year, the number of green certificates traded by PCCV dropped 4.3 times, to 8,468 certificates, as compared to 36,618 certificates traded in 2015.

According to the National Energy Regulatory Authority, the estimated mandatory quota for green certificates acquisition for 2017 was established at 0.320 CV/MWh, corresponding to a final electricity consumption exempt from the payment of green certificates of 6,700 GWh, the impact of the green certificates in the end-consumer's bill being of about 43.7 lei/MWh.

The price of the Green Certificates varies within an interval (minimum-maximum price) established through Government Decision. The minimum price is imposed to protect the producers while the maximum price is to protect consumers.

The renewable sources eligible to participate in the Green Certificates' trading system are the hydropower energy used in plants with an installed power of up to 10 MW, wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy and associated fuel gases, biomass, biogas, waste fermentation gas, sludge fermentation biogas from wastewater treatment installations.