The deregulation of the Romanian gas market, on July 1, 2020, and of the electricity market, from January 1, 2021, will have beneficial effects for household consumers and will attract investors, Zoltan Nagy-Bege, Vice President of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), said on Tuesday.
"Deregulations will have beneficial effects on household consumers, even if not tomorrow, on this market dominated by a small circle of suppliers. In the medium and long term, consumers will be the first to feel the beneficial effects," the ANRE official said at Energy Strategy Summit.
The side effect will be investors' confidence, he added.
"Deregulations are very clear signs of the authorities' intentions and I guarantee you that after deregulation, investors' interest in the Romanian natural gas market or electricity market will increase. Because this is what investors are looking for: free trading conditions, freedom to carry out the activity they know best," Bege added.
He pointed out that Romania needs investments in the energy production sector, especially in natural gas, to replace the current coal-fired power plants, which will no longer be able to meet the environmental conditions.
From July 1, the Romanian gas market will be completely deregulated, and the regulated tariffs will be eliminated and the price will be set freely between the supplier and the consumer.
The electricity market will be deregulated on January 1, 2021.