Nearly 4.6 million households in Romania, out of a total of 8.74 million, can be defined as vulnerable electricity consumers since they consume less than 55kWh per month, according to the market regulator ANRE, Adevarul reported.

The figures point to low refrigerator, TV, and washing machine ownership rates among Romanian households (not to mention more sophisticated appliances such as air conditioning units or freezers).

However, these figures might not be relevant in the context of the vulnerable energy consumer law that the Labor Ministry and Energy Ministry are working on. As expected, the law says that vulnerable energy consumers are those who have incomes below a certain level or are located in remote areas.

Indeed, households whose electricity consumption is below a certain threshold are currently offered a preferential "social" contract. However, it is unclear what happens to them after the market liberalization on January 1.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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