The head of ANRE expects a gas price below the current ceiling. “Import dependence, very low, should be zero in the near future”
Gases for domestic consumers / Source: MaddyZ | Dreamstime.com
The head of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) estimates that the measures prepared by the Government will bring the price of natural gas below the current ceiling of 0.31 lei/kWh for household consumers and 0.37 lei/kWh for non-household consumers, which is still in force until March 31.
Asked on Friday on B1 TV what will happen to the price of gas from April 1, George Niculescu said that it “should come out somewhere below the ceiling price”.
“If we look at the price comparator that ANRE makes available, we see that there are offers that fall within this margin, between 0.31 and 0.37, active offers even after April 1st, and sporadically we see an offer that is below this ceiling,” said the president of ANRE.
He said that, from ANRE's point of view, “the administrative setting of the price for domestic consumers and thermal energy producers should lead to the decrease of the price we have in the bill below the ceiling of 0.31”.
“Something that we see is already happening in the price comparator and without this ordinance (…). It is probably about ensuring comfort in paying these bills at natural prices by the population,” added George Niculescu.
The official said that “reliance on imports is very low at the moment and would be zero in the near future”, which will lead to lower prices.
“For the most part, natural gas consumption is ensured from domestic production. If we take into account the fact that the Nepun Deep project in the Black Sea will enter production in 2027, practically, Romania's natural gas consumption should be ensured 100% from natural gas produced here in the country. So the dependence on imports is very low at the moment and should be zero in the near future”, ANRE president George Niculescu also declared.
The government announced last week that it will postpone by one year the liberalization of the gas market, scheduled for March 31, 2026, but so far it has not adopted a normative act in this regard.
In the absence of a legislative change, the current framework remains in place, and suppliers have already started sending customers notices of the new prices applicable from 1 April. Thus, part of the consumers were informed that the rates are to increase from the spring.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday evening, the Ministry of Energy launched into public debate a draft ordinance that provides for an even lower gas price ceiling than the current one until March 31, 2027.
“Slightly lower bills” for gas from April 1. The news given by the head of a company with 3.4 million Romanian customers
Source: MaddyZ | Dreamstime.com
