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Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu said on Thursday that the price of electricity and natural gas for SMEs and household consumers should remain regulated, as it is presently provided for in the ordinance.
He mentioned that he had a discussion on Wednesday on the subject of electricity and natural gas bills with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, the National Liberal Party (PNL) leader Florin Citu and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) leader Kelemen Hunor, Agerpres.ro informs.
"I remain of the opinion that the price, at least for SMEs and the household area, must remain a regulated price, as it is presently included in the ordinance - 0.8 and 1 RON for SMEs, coming with a scheme through the Ministry of Finance, through the Ministry of SMEs and through the Ministry of Economy for the big producers. If we do not find another solution, a better one until then [in April - ed.n.] I think that the most convenient for the Government is an extension for April as well. In fact, we are prolonging something without making a decision. The worst decision is not to make any decision. We have seen the Prime Minister very determined to urgently find solutions. I would like us to understand that after the Government issues an emergency ordinance and gives back the attributions to the ANRE [the National Energy Regulatory Authority], because ANRE at this moment no longer has attributions, some steps towards transparency must follow. However, we are talking about some important multinational companies, which have lawyers, logistics, all these steps must be designed so that there are no problems in the future," Ciolacu told radio broadcaster Europa FM.
The leader of the Social Democrats added that several solutions have been found for the bill crisis, but they have not yet been communicated to the public because the prime minister wants to "come out with the whole package".
