The Electricity Market Association (EMA) on Friday expressed concern over last-minute changes to the competitive electricity market, just weeks before its planned launch.

It said regulatory changes to the guidelines for participation of units in the competitive market were particularly worrying, since it had not yet entered into public debate and would be substantially altering the way the market operated and the place of the parties within it.

It said the introduction of important structural changes to the framework affected the business model and the strategy of active participants and was “not acceptable at this stage”.

“When the relevant documents are submitted to public debate at a later date, the finalising procedure may be extended till September. It is thus reasonable to ask how is it possible to publicly announce that the market will open in October, when such substantive issues are still pending and do not allow the participants to draft a clear business plan,” EMA said.

It added that these “last-minute” changes “caused insecurity, shattered trust and sent worrying messages to all participants and the end consumers”.

“The successful and reliable transition to the competitive electricity market requires institutional stability, transparency and adequate time to adapt. For this reason, EMA suggests that the market begin on the basis of the current approved regulatory framework, without the incorporation of the proposed amendments to the regulations and relevant manuals, since they have not been completed through the institutional procedure,” EMA pointed out.

EMA “is not against any amendment of the regulations, given that it is deemed necessary and adopted in the proper way.”

“Our main concern remains the successful launch of the competitive electricity market to the benefit of all involved and primarily end consumers,” EMA said.

Earlier this week, the private electricity industry on Tuesday had censured the energy minister for remarks which, in its opinion, undermine confidence in the coming opening up of the electricity market.