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Gas company E.ON Romania argues that the gas amounts on the market are not available for reasonable long-term prices, so as to allow a cut in household bills starting from July 1, but does not exclude that this will happen in the next period, the company said in a reply sent at the request of AGERPRES.
The gas market will be fully liberalized starting with July 1, and household consumers will no longer pay regulated prices. Whereas Minister of Energy Virgil Popescu claims that the bills should decrease by 10 - 15 percent, the large suppliers E.ON and Engie sent their customers offers for the same prices as those in force until now.
E.ON representatives said that winter consumption accounts for 80 percent of a household's all-year consumption, that there's a 1 to 6 difference between summer gas consumption and consumption in the cold season, and that the gas needed to cover this consumption peak is more expensive and is usually purchased from import, for higher prices.
Asked what they expect the gas price evolution to be in the next period, E.ON officials did not rule out a price reduction, provided that gas is available on the market in the long term for reasonable prices, which is not the case now.
E.ON officials refrained from commenting on the statements of Energy Minister Virgil Popescu, who accused the companies of anti-competitive collusion and said that the government is ready to step in if the final prices don't drop in July; the E.ON representatives just said that they will fully comply with the legislation.
AGERPRES sent the same requests to Engie representatives, but the company's press office said it would not answer questions and make no public comments on the liberalization subject.
