The market is the first to react in the event of an energy crisis and governments take measures after the market intervenes, but once an energy crisis starts, it ends somewhere after 3-5 years, as history shows us, said George Niculescu, president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), at the "Economic Trends 2026" conference on Monday.
"As you put pressure on ANRE to reduce costs in the economy, you are practically transforming us into the main institution that has the role of saving the economy by reducing costs. As much as we would like to play this role of hero, unfortunately we do not have all the necessary powers to fulfill it. I will start at the beginning and tell you that, as happened in the crisis triggered by the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine, the same thing is happening as a result of this crisis once the war in the Iran area has ended. The market is the first to react. Governments and states take measures after the market and the volatility of prices in the market intervene. We see, and experience shows us, that these effects are long-lasting. If we consider the fact that the first increases in electricity and natural gas prices came before the invasion began in February 2022 and that we exited the capping-compensation scheme for electricity on July 1, 2025, and for natural gas it has just been extended in a slightly different form until March 31, 2027, we can see together that, once an energy crisis begins, it ends somewhere after 3-5 years. This is about the time estimate that history shows us for natural gas, especially, with the scheme being extended by another year," said Niculescu.
He stressed that the authorities must remain attentive to what is happening on the crude oil and natural gas market.
"So, for the market to react and to get back on the competitive path, obviously any kind of external influence on the market must calm down, states and governments must stop intervening through one-off interventions and then it becomes a truly free market again. In the meantime, we intervene when we need to intervene. We must continue to keep our eyes on the ball, very focused on what is happening, both in the oil and natural gas markets, on what changes mean. I would not like to see market interventions again, as we saw in 2021-2022, but when things require such measures, I am convinced that all authorities, including ANRE, will not hesitate to impose these corrective measures in such a way that in the end "consumers, both household and non-household, should be protected from these large price fluctuations," the head of ANRE pointed out.
The European Businesswomen's Federation (PEFA) is organizing, on Monday, the fourth edition of the "Economic Trends 2026" conference, which brings together decision-makers, experts and representatives of the business environment to outline the main directions of macroeconomic, energy and entrepreneurial developments of the current year.
The National Press Agency AGERPRES is one of the media partners of the event.
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