Energy Law.

This Law regulates the energy industry as the economic sector that covers the acquisition and use of energy resources for the production of various types of energy, the conversion, purchase, storage, transmission, distribution, trade and use of energy. The purpose of this Law is to ensure the energy user with efficient, safe and qualitative energy supply in the quantity demanded and for justified prices, diversifying the types of energy resources to be used, increasing the safety of the energy supply and observing the environmental protection requirements; to promote efficient use and balanced consumption of energy; to ensure the right of energy users to choose the type of energy to be consumed and the merchant; to promote economically justified competition; to determine the procedures for the management of energy industry and the principles for organisation and regulation of operation of energy supply merchants; to facilitate the use of local, renewable and secondary energy resources; to promote the friendly impact of energy industry on the environment and the use of environmentally friendly technologies. The energy policy is a part of the national economy policy and the main principles, objectives and directions thereof shall be determined by the Cabinet in policy planning instruments. The Law further provides for licensing and registration of energy supply merchants and operation thereof; restrictions of rights to the use of immovable property because of location of objects of an energy supply merchant therein; natural gas supply system; heating supply and cooling supply system; increase of energy efficiency; energy crisis; energy industry management; regulation of energy supply; liability for failing to comply with the requirements for supply of natural gas; and natural gas market. Disputes regarding the fulfilment of liabilities arising from the obligation to pay for the service received shall be examined according to the claim procedure in a general jurisdiction court. A licence for the transmission, distribution of electricity, thermal energy and natural gas and for the storage of natural gas, provision of liquefied natural gas services shall be issued for 20 years. The Ministry of Economics in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development shall develop and publish the guidelines for the establishment of energy communities, including recommendations for public entities regarding the support to and participation in energy communities. The State Construction Control Bureau shall be responsible for the creation, maintenance, administration, and management of the register of energy communities, and also for making, updating, and public accessibility of data entries. The Cabinet shall, once in two years, review the necessary amount of safety reserves of energy supply on the basis of the assessment of the Ministry of Economics on the situation of energy supply safety and the sources and capacities of natural gas available.