Romania’s Chamber of Deputies To Investigate Energy Price Hikes As Of Jun 30

The investigation committee will start its activity on June 30. It must develop a report with its propositions and conclusions regarding the matter, until September 27, according to the decision enacted on June 18 by the Chamber of Deputies and published Friday in Romania’s Official Gazette.

The investigation committee will be made up of 22 deputies and led by Iulian Iancu, head of the Committee for Industry.

The committee plans to analyze the prices set up in the last years by the country’s Energy Authority ANRE, Iancu said.

This committee was set up due to the high tariffs on natural gas and electricity delivered to the population, compared with the other consumers, he added. 

The officials might oblige the energy watchdog to set up some measures on the household energy tariffs, favoring the population in paying the gas and electricity bills.

The household gas prices will be up by an average 12.5% as of July 1, on the costs increase in purchasing natural gas during January to June period, as well as in order to partially recover the price differences reported during that period, the energy watchdog ANRE said Thursday.

Thus, the new household gas prices will be of 104.41 lei/MWh (EUR1= RON3.6561) for E.ON Gaz Romania, up 11.6% from the current price, and of RON104.70/MWh for Distrigaz Sud Bucuresti, up 12.5% from the current one, the authority also said.

E.ON Gaz Romania, the local unit of Germany's giant E.ON, was not pleased with ANRE’s decision, as it has previously requested the authority to increase household gas prices by 24% as of July 1.

E.ON Gaz Romania and the country’s second largest gas distributor Distrigaz Sud, majority-owned by French utility Gaz de France, had initially requested a 19% rise of prices on April 1. The companies revised the gas prices hike demand to 25% to cover losses from soaring import prices.

In its most recent adjustment, the Romanian energy watchdog increased household gas prices by 8.5% on February 2, on higher international prices.

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