The ceiling on the price of natural gas must be eliminated, but the exit from the ceiling must be planned very well, one solution being the return, for a limited period, to a "gas release program", declared on Tuesday the executive director of the Federation of Energy Utility Companies Associations (ACUE), Daniela Daraban.
"From our point of view, the cap must be eliminated. We believe in the beneficial effects of the free market, but the exit from the cap must be planned very well. Unlike electricity, the exit from the cap will be made in the warm season, when the bills, at least for household customers, are the lowest on the natural gas side. This does not mean that some unwanted developments on the wholesale market in terms of price would not subsequently influence the final price, the invoice price in the cold season. We believe that a solution would be, for a limited period of time, to return to the gas release program, but we are also open to other solutions that can ensure the smoothest possible price evolution in the wholesale area," explained Daniela Darban.
She stated that she cannot make an estimate regarding the impact on the final bill of eliminating the cap, because there is no visibility on gas purchases after March 2026.
"I think it's really hard to make an estimate on the price impact at this point," she pointed out, noting that approximately 60% of the final customer invoice is represented by the wholesale market price.
"This is why we say that there must be discussions and a plan. A plan made today can help us have visibility post-March 2026," added the ACUE director.
She explained that the "gas release program" ensures visibility on the available quantities and packages available at the level of natural gas supply on the wholesale market.
"There is this problem. When you don't know if you can find gas, you can buy it at a higher price. So the risk that you won't find gas anymore is eliminated," Dana Daraban said.
The President of the Romanian Energy Suppliers Association (AFEER), Laurentiu Urluescu, stated last week that the gas bill could increase, from April 1, 2026, after the expiration of the capping-compensation scheme, by approximately 5%.
"Now, we, as suppliers, for household and district heating have a purchase price of 120 RON/MWh, to which the storage part is added, and we expect that, from April 1, we will go to the market price, which is somewhere around 170 RON/MWh. (The bill) could increase by at least 5% from April 1," said Urluescu.
Until March 31, 2026, the final price invoiced by natural gas suppliers is a maximum of 0.31 RON/kWh, VAT included, for household customers, and a maximum of 0.37 RON/kWh, VAT included, for non-household customers whose annual natural gas consumption in the previous year at the place of consumption is no more than 50,000 MWh, as well as for thermal energy producers and non-household customers within industrial parks regulated by Law no. 186/2013 on the establishment and operation of industrial parks, as amended and supplemented, as well as those within closed distribution systems defined according to Law no. 123/2012, as amended and supplemented.
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