Electricity (Amendment No. 2) Regulations, 2025

L.N. 235 of 2025

REGULATOR FOR ENERGY AND WATER SERVICES ACT

(CAP. 545)

Electricity (Amendment No. 2) Regulations, 2025

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 37 of the

Regulator for Energy and Water Services Act, the Minister responsible

for energy and water services, after consultation with the Regulator for

Energy and Water Services, has made the following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Electricity Citation and

(Amendment No. 2) Regulations, 2025 and these regulations shall be scope.

read and construed as one with the Electricity Regulations, hereinafter S.L. 545.34.

referred to as the "principal regulations".

(2) The scope of these regulations is to transpose the

provisions of Directive (EU) 2024/1711 of the European Parliament

and of the Council of 13 June 2024 amending Directives (EU) 2018/

2001 and (EU) 2019/944 as regards improving the Union’s electricity

market design.

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 2 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) in the Maltese version only, immediately after the

definition "derivattiva tal-elettriku" there shall be added the

following new definition

" "Direttiva" tfisser id-Direttiva (UE) 2019/944 tal-

Parlament Ewropew u tal-Kunsill tal-5 ta’ Ġunju 2019

dwar regoli komuni għas-suq intern għall-elettriku u li

temenda d-Direttiva 2012/27/UE;";

(b) the definition "energy from renewable sources" or

"renewable energy" shall be substituted by the following new

definition

" "energy from renewable sources" or "renewable

energy" means energy from renewable non-fossil sources,

namely wind, solar (solar thermal and solar photovoltaic)

and geothermal energy, osmotic energy, ambient energy,

tide, wave and other ocean energy, hydropower, biomass,

landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas, and biogas;";

(c) immediately after the definition "energy from

renewable sources" or "renewable energy", as substituted, there

shall be added the following new definition

" "energy poverty" means a household’s lack of

access to essential energy services, where such services

provide basic levels and decent standards of living and

health, including adequate heating, hot water, cooling,

lighting, and energy to power appliances, in the relevant

national context, existing national social policy and other

relevant national policies, caused by a combination of

factors, including at least non-affordability, insufficient

disposable income, high energy expenditure and poor

energy efficiency of homes;";

(d) immediately after the definition "energy storage

facility" there shall be added the following new definitions

" "ENTSO for Electricity" means the European

Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity;

"EU DSO entity" means the EU entity for distribution

operators established under Regulation (EU) 2019/943;";

(e) immediately after the definition "final customer"

there shall be added the following new definitions

" "fixed-term fixed-price electricity supply contract"

means an electricity supply contract between a supplier and

a final customer that guarantees that the contractual terms

and conditions, including the price, remain unchanged for

the duration of the contract, while it may, within a fixed

and off-peak price variations, and where changes in the

resulting bill can only result from elements that are not

determined by suppliers, such as taxes and levies;

"flexible connection agreement" means a set of

agreed conditions for connecting electrical capacity to the

grid that includes conditions to limit and control the

electricity injection to and withdrawal from the

transmission network or distribution network;";

(f) immediately after the definition "supply" there shall

be added the following new definition

" "supplier of last resort" means a supplier who is

designated to take over the supply of electricity to

customers of a supplier which has ceased to operate;".

Regulation 8 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 8 of

substituted by the following new regulation

the principal

regulations.

(1) Final customers who have a smart

dynamic electricity

meter installed may request to conclude a dynamic

electricity price contract with at least one supplier and

with every supplier that has more than two hundred

thousand (200,000) final customers.

(2) Prior to the conclusion or extension of any

contract referred to in sub-regulation (1), final

customers shall be provided with a summary of the key

contractual terms and conditions in a prominent manner

and in clear and concise language. That summary shall

establish the rights referred to in regulation 7(3) and (4)

and shall include at least the following information

(a) the total price and its breakdown;

(b) an explanation as to whether the price

is fixed, variable or dynamic;

(c) the supplier’s email address and the

details of a consumer support hotline; and

(d) where relevant, information on one-

time payments, promotions, additional services and

discounts.

(3) Suppliers shall keep final customers fully

informed of the opportunities, costs and risks of such

dynamic electricity price contracts and shall provide

information to the final customers accordingly,

including with regard to the need to have an adequate

electricity meter installed.

(4) The Regulator shall

(a) monitor the market developments and

assess the risks that the new products and services

may entail and address abusive practices;

(b) take appropriate measures where

impermissible termination fees are identified in

accordance with regulation 9(3).

(5) Suppliers shall obtain each final customer’s

consent before such customer is switched to a dynamic

electricity price contract.

(6) For at least a ten (10) year period after

dynamic electricity price contracts become available, the

Regulator shall monitor, and shall publish an annual

report on the main developments of such contracts,

including market offers and the impact on consumers’

bills, and specifically the level of price volatility.

(7) This regulation shall not apply until such time

that a spot or intra-day market is developed in Malta.".

4. Immediately after regulation 8 of the principal regulations,

as substituted, there shall be added the following new regulation

"8A. (1) All final customers may request to

conclude a fixed-term, fixed-price electricity supply

contract with a duration of at least one (1) year, with at

least one supplier and with every supplier that has more

than two hundred thousand (200,000) final customers

Provided that rights to conclude a fixed-term,

fixed-price electricity supply contract with a duration of

at least one (1) year with more than one supplier shall not

be exercised until such time that the derogation under

paragraph 5 of Article 66 of the Directive applies.

(2) Suppliers shall not unilaterally modify the

terms and conditions of fixed-term, fixed-price

electricity supply contracts and shall not terminate such

contracts before they reach their maturity.

(3) Prior to the conclusion or extension of any

contract referred to in sub-regulation (1), final customers

shall be provided with a summary of the key contractual

terms and conditions in a prominent manner and in clear

and concise language. That summary shall set out the

rights referred to in regulation 7(3) and (4) and shall

include at least the following information

(a) the total price and its breakdown;

(b) an explanation as to whether the price

is fixed, variable or dynamic;

(c) the supplier’s email address and the

details of a consumer helpline; and

(d) where relevant, information on one-

time payments, promotions, additional services and

discounts.

(4) Final customers with fixed-term, fixed-price

electricity supply contracts shall not be excluded from

their participation, when they so decide, in demand

response and energy sharing and from actively

contributing to the achievement of the national

electricity system flexibility needs.".

5. Immediately after regulation 15 of the principal regulations Adds new

regulation to the

there shall be added the following new regulation

principal

regulations.

(1) Il-klijenti finali kollha jistgħu jitolbu li

jikkonkludu kuntratt għall-provvista tal-elettriku għal

terminu fiss bi prezz fiss b’tul ta’ żmien ta’ mill-inqas

sena (1), ma’ tal-inqas fornitur wieħed (1) u ma’ kull

fornitur li għandu aktar minn mitejn elf (200,000)

klijenti finali

Iżda d-drittijiet sabiex jiġi konkluż kuntratt

għall-provvista tal-elettriku għal terminu fiss bi prezz

fiss b’tul ta’ żmien ta’ mill-inqas sena (1), ma’ tal-inqas

fornitur wieħed ma għandhomx jiġu eżerċitati sakemm

tibqa’ tapplika d-deroga taħt il-paragrafu 5 tal-Artikolu

66 tad-Direttiva.

(2) Il-fornituri ma għandhomx jimmodifikaw

unilateralment it-termini u l-kundizzjonijiet tal-kuntratti

għall-provvista tal-elettriku għal terminu fiss bi prezz

fiss u ma għandhomx jitterminaw tali kuntratti qabel ma

jilħqu l-maturità tagħhom.

(3) Qabel il-konklużjoni jew l-estensjoni ta’

kwalunkwe kuntratt imsemmi fis-subregolament (1), il-

klijenti finali għandhom jiġu pprovduti b’sommarju tat-

termini u l-kundizzjonijiet kuntrattwali ewlenin b’mod

prominenti u b’lingwaġġ ċar u konċiż. Tali sommarju

għandu jistabbilixxi d-drittijiet imsemmija fir-

regolament 7(3) u (4) u għandu jinkludi mill-inqas din l-

informazzjoni li ġejja

(a) il-prezz totali u t-tqassim tiegħu;

(b) spjegazzjoni dwar jekk il-prezz huwiex

fiss, varjabbli jew dinamiku;

(ċ) l-indirizz elettroniku tal-fornitur u d-

dettalji tan-numru ta’ appoġġ għall-konsumaturi; u

(d) fejn rilevanti, informazzjoni dwar

pagamenti ta’ darba, promozzjonijiet, servizzi

addizzjonali u skontijiet.

(4) Il-klijenti finali b’kuntratti għall-provvista

tal-elettriku għal terminu fiss u bi prezz fiss ma

għandhomx jiġu esklużi milli jipparteċipaw, meta

jiddeċiedu li jagħmlu dan, fir-rispons tad-domanda u

fil-kondiviżjoni tal-enerġija u milli jikkontribwixxu

b’mod attiv għall-kisba tal-ħtiġijiet għall-flessibbiltà

tas-sistema nazzjonali tal-elettriku.".

5. Minnufih wara r-regolament 15 tar-regolamenti prinċipali Iżid regolament

ġdid mar-

għandu jiġi miżjud ir-regolament ġdid li ġej

regolamenti

prinċipali.

(1) The Regulator shall, whilst taking into

account the size of the supplier or the market structure

and including, if relevant, by carrying out stress tests,

ensure that suppliers

(a) have in place and implement

appropriate hedging strategies, to limit the risk of

changes in wholesale electricity supply to the

economic viability of their contracts with

customers, while maintaining liquidity on and

(b) take all reasonable steps to limit their

risk of supply failure.

(2) Supplier hedging strategies may include the

use of power purchase agreements as defined in Article

2(77) of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the

internal market for electricity or other appropriate

instruments, such as forward contracts.

(3) Citizen energy communities and renewable

energy communities may request the Regulator to assess

their accessibility to hedging products

Provided that the Regulator, based on the outcome

of such assessment, if and where deemed necessary,

shall make recommendations to the Minister regarding

the need to put in place enabling conditions to enhance

the availability of such hedging products for citizen

energy

communities

and

renewable

energy

communities.".

6. Immediately

after

regulation

of

the

principal Adds new

regulation to the

principal

regulations.

regulations, there shall be added the following new regulation

(1) The supplier of last resort is appointed

by the Regulator as the supplier with the largest market

share per category of consumers. The Regulator shall

be provided with the necessary information, upon

demand, to assess the adequacy of such supplier to

satisfy such role.

(2) Final customers who are transferred to the

supplier of last resort shall continue to benefit from all of

their rights as customers as established in these

regulations.

(3) The supplier of last resort shall

communicate its terms and conditions to transferred

customers without delay and shall ensure a seamless

continuity of service for those customers for a period

needed to find a new supplier, for at least six (6)

months.

(4) The supplier of last resort shall ensure that

final customers are provided with information and

encouragement to switch to a market-based offer

Provided that this regulation shall not apply

until such time that the derogation under paragraph 5 of

Article 66 of the Directive applies.".

7. Immediately after regulation 26 of the principal regulations

there shall be added the following new regulation

(1) Suppliers shall not terminate contracts

and disconnect customers on the grounds on which

customers have submitted a complaint in accordance

with regulation 7(8) or which are subject to an out-of-

court dispute settlement mechanism in accordance with

regulation 23

Provided that such a complaint or the use of

such a mechanism shall not affect the parties’ contractual

rights and obligations.

(2) Suppliers shall implement any of the

following measures to enable vulnerable customers and

customers affected by energy poverty to avoid

disconnection

(a) arrangements to support customers in

managing their energy use and costs including

flagging unusual high energy spikes or use in

winter and summer seasons, offering appropriate

flexible payment plans, debt advice measures,

self-metering

readings,

and

improved

communication with customers and support

agencies;

(b) the promotion of customers’ education

and awareness of their rights with regard to debt

management;

(c) the provision of information on access

to finance, vouchers or subsidies to support the

payment of bills;

(d) the encouragement and facilitation of

the provision of regular self-meter readings where

remote meter reading is not possible in line with

the frequency of billing and the provision of billing

information obligations in the First Schedule;

(e) remote import capacity limitation.".

8. Regulation 28 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 28 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) sub-regulation 2 thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-regulation

"(2) In any event, the distribution system operator

shall not discriminate between system users or classes of

system users, including renewable energy communities and

citizen energy communities, in particular in favour of its

related undertakings.";

(b) sub-regulation 3 thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-regulation

"(3) (a) The distribution system operator shall

provide system users with the information they need for

efficient access to, including use of the system. In

particular, distribution system operators shall publish in a

transparent manner clear information on the capacity

available for new connections in their area of operation

with high spatial granularity, respecting public security and

data confidentiality, including the capacity under

connection request and the possibility of flexible

connection in congested areas. The publication shall

include information on the criteria for the calculation of the

available capacity for new connections. Distribution system

operators shall update such information on a regular basis,

at least every three (3) months.

(b) Distribution system operators shall provide in a

transparent manner clear information to system users about

the status and treatment of their connection requests. They

shall provide such information within three (3) months of

the submission of the request. Where the requested

connection is neither granted nor permanently rejected,

distribution system operators shall update that information

on a regular basis, at least every three (3) months.

(c) Distribution system operators shall provide

system users the option to request grid connection and

submit relevant documents exclusively in digital form.".

9. Immediately after regulation 30 of the principal regulations

there shall be added the following new regulation

(1) The Regulator shall develop a

framework for transmission system operators and

distribution system operators to offer the possibility of

establishing flexible connection agreements in areas

where there is limited or no network capacity

availability for new connections in accordance with

Article 31(3) and Article 50(4a), first paragraph of

Regulation (EU) 2019/943. Such framework shall

ensure that

(a) as a general rule, flexible connections

do not delay the network reinforcements in the

identified areas;

(b) a conversion from flexible to firm

connection agreements once the network is

developed is ensured on the basis of established

criteria; and

(c) for areas where the Regulator deems

network development not to be the most efficient

solution, enable where relevant, flexible

connection agreements as a permanent solution,

including for energy storage.

(2) The framework referred to in sub-regulation

(1) may ensure that flexible connection agreements

specify at least the following

(a) the maximum firm injection and

withdrawal of electricity from and to the grid, as

well as the additional flexible injection and

withdrawal capacity that may be connected and

differentiated by time blocks throughout the year;

(b) the network charges applicable to both

the firm and flexible injection and withdrawal

capacities;

(c) the agreed duration of the flexible

connection agreement and the expected date for

granting connection to the entire requested firm

capacity.

(3) The system user connecting through a

flexible grid connection shall be required to install

a power control system that is certified by an

authorised certifier.".

10. Sub-regulation (1) of regulation 31 of the principal Amends

regulations shall be substituted by the following new sub-regulation: regulation

the principal

regulations.

"31. (1) The distribution system operator shall

cooperate on a non-discriminatory basis with any undertaking

that owns, develops, operates or manages recharging points with

smart charging functionalities and bidirectional charging

functionalities in accordance with Article 20a of 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 (recast) for electric vehicles, including with

regard to connection to the grid.".

11. Sub-regulation (1) of regulation 47 of the principal Amends

regulation 47 of

regulations shall be amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) paragraph (c) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(c) in close coordination with the other regulatory

authorities, ensuring the compliance of the single allocation

platform established in accordance with Commission

Regulation (EU) 2016/1719 of 26 September 2016

establishing a guideline on forward capacity allocation, the

ENTSO for Electricity and the EU DSO entity, with their

obligations under these regulations, Regulation (EU) 2019/

943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5

June 2019 on the internal market for electricity, the network

codes and guidelines adopted pursuant to Articles 59, 60

and 61 of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the

internal market for electricity, and any other relevant Union

law, including as regards cross-border issues, as well as

with ACER’s decisions, and the joint identification of non-

compliance of the ENTSO for Electricity and the EU DSO

entity with their respective obligations. Where the

regulatory authorities have not reached an agreement

within a period of four (4) months after the start of

consultations for the purpose of jointly identifying non-

compliance, the matter shall be referred to the ACER for a

decision, pursuant to Article 6(10) of Regulation (EU)

2019/942 of the European Parliament and of the Council of

5 June 2019 establishing a European Union Agency for the

Cooperation of Energy Regulators (recast);";

(b) paragraph (z) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(z) monitoring the removal of unjustified obstacles

to and restrictions on the development of consumption of

self-generated electricity, energy sharing, renewable energy

communities and citizen energy communities, including

obstacles and restrictions preventing the connection of

flexible distributed energy generation within a reasonable

time in accordance with regulation 46(d).".

€0.90