Report 2008 [antikvár]

Dear Reader, The Hungarian Energy Office (hereinafter: HEO) established in 1994 celebrates its 15 years' anniversary in 2009, and so it has become one of the oldest regulatory authorities in Europe. HEO, through its activities, influences a significant segment of the national economy. In 2008 the value of the annual electricity, natural gas and district heat supply exceeded 2,000 billion HUF, and the subscribed capital of the companies concerned was more than 900 billion HUF. 70% of the domestic energy supply was provided by these companies. Hungary has been cooperating effectively with the European energy systems for many years now, in a fairly favorable way. The energy system of Hungary has been -technically speaking- part of the western integration since the 1990s. The connection to the western European electricity systems increased the safety of supply and on the other hand it opened the door to the liberalization of the electricity market. Since 2001 Hungary has been a regular member of the western European electricity system association. The gradual liberalization of the electricity market started on 1 January in 2003 and the liberalization of the natural gas market commenced on 1 January in 2004 opening a new chapter for the consumers with the option to choose and in the regulation of the energy companies. At first, the free market sector was operating along with the public utility sector with regulated prices. Later, the new Electricity Act (passed in the summer of 2007) introduced further significant changes: by putting an end to the "single buyer" market model based on regulated prices and the consumers/end-users became eligible to buy electricity under free-market circumstances and were able to choose from among the competing suppliers (traders) in the energy market. The legal rules on the full market opening came into force on 1 January 2008 regarding the electricity industry and on 1 July 2009 regarding the natural gas industry. Though the possibility of the full market opening of the natural gas market had already been given on 1 July 2007, but the new natural gas market model has been operating actually since 1 July 2009. Residential consumers who do not wish to take advantage of the possibility of trader switching may stay with the universal service provider at an administrative price containing a maximum margin. Since the residential consumers in the electricity industry do not get commercial offers at a lower price than the universal supply, so the development of the effective market is still to be waited. In the natural gas supply only a few residential consumers have switched trader since July 2008.