The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has launched a program of Technical Assistance (TA) to support the Moldovan Government in continuing the energy reform. Expertise France (EF), the French public agency for international technical assistance, was entrusted by the AFD with the implementation of the project. As part of several commitments undertaken by Moldova in pursuit of its accession to the European Union, the country is engaged in an in-depth reform of its energy sector, including operational, financial and structural aspects. The TA aims at supporting the Moldovan authorities for the development of a modern energy legal framework.

In December 2023, amendments to the Law no. 10/2016 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (henceforth – Renewable Energy Law no. 10/2016) were adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The respective amendments aimed at partial transposition of the Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.

The amended Law no. 10/2016 established the responsibility of the National Agency for Energy Regulation of the Republic of Moldova (henceforth – National Regulatory Authority, NRA) to develop and approve the mandatory clauses of the contract for peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions.

However, given the novelty nature of P2P trading arrangements for Moldova and the importance of such transactions in providing renewable energy prosumers with flexibility to generate renewable electricity, store and sell excess production, there has emerged a need for a better understanding of the EU best practices in this regard.

Hence, the NRA requested support from the EF TA project to commission a study on P2P transaction enforcement practices in the EU and their applicability in Moldova. The objective of the study is to identify and document typical architectures of P2P energy trading systems, operational models, market mechanisms, and legal/regulatory frameworks that represent best practices across the EU, enabling effective and efficient P2P trading. Moreover, the study shall provide a comparison of the identified best practices with the current state of play in Moldova and assess their applicability. In addition, it shall offer recommendations for the implementation of P2P electricity trading in Moldova. These recommendations shall provide sufficient insights for the subsequent development of a P2P contract template with mandatory clauses to be approved by the NRA.

In this context, Expertise France, within the framework of the Moldovan Green Transition Technical Assistance Facility project, in supporting the National Agency for Energy Regulation of the Republic of Moldova, seeks to recruit  an expert with strong international experience (henceforth – International Consultant). The expert shall elaborate the study on P2P transaction enforcement practices in the EU and their applicability in Moldova, as described above. Throughout the whole process of study elaboration, the International Consultant will be supported by a delegated NRA specialist and a representative from the TA Project Implementation Unit (PIU)– the Senior expert in EU Energy policies and Renewable Energy Systems (henceforth – local specialists).

The International Consultant will work under the supervision of the Expertise France Team Leader of the Moldovan Green Transition Technical Assistance Facility project and in close coordination with the delegated representatives of the National Agency for Energy Regulation of the Republic of Moldova.