summary of the case

Directive 2009/72/EC concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity was adapted by Ministerial Council Decision 2011/02/MC-EnC of 6 October 2011 and incorporated into the Energy Community acquis. It introduced the obligation to unbundle where energy supply and generation are separated from the operation of transmission networks. If a single company operates a transmission network and generates or sells energy at the same time, it may have an incentive to obstruct competitors' access to infrastructure. Unbundling must take place according to three models only, depending on the preferences of individual countries. Following the unbundling process, Contracting Parties also had to ensure that transmission system operators are designated and certified. The Contracting Parties were required to implement and to comply with the provisions on TSO unbundling and certification by 1 June 2016. 

The Moldovan TSO Moldelectrica does not comply with the requirements for ownership unbundling under Article 9 of the Electricity Directive, the only unbundling model eligible under Moldovan law. Also, the Moldovan regulator ANRE has not adopted a certification decision as required by Article 10 of the Electricity Directive. Therefore, the Secretariat preliminarily concluded that Moldova had failed to comply with the requirement to follow and conclude a certification procedure before designating the TSO, as stipulated in Article 10 of the Electricity Directive.