The association of energy utility firms ACUE called on Monday for the government to put out regulation that prevents the price of domestic gas to reach the level of Russian imports, which would dent the country’s economic competitiveness.
The ACUE said that the local gas market lacks of features that could make it functional such as trading platforms, which are already operational for the electricity market.
“At present discussions are underway for the scrapping of regulated tariff for non-household consumers starting July 1 2013, although alternative viable solutions are missing. This change would impact around 170,000 firms in Romania, which have an annual consumption of around 20 TWh,” said the ACUE in a statement.
The government should pass a bill that includes a transition period for consumers to the deregulated market at least by the end of 2015, according to the association.
“In this period, along with the development of the market and their related instruments, we will still need to have regulated prices for categories of impacted consumers, which would reflect in a correct manner the price of domestic gas, while the cost of imported gas would need to be allotted in an objective manner,” added the ACUE.
The ACUE has 25 members including GDF Suez Energy Romania and E.On Romania
Ovidiu Posirca