Romanian fossil fuel power producers seek to recover EUR 160 mln from state under price-capping scheme

Three major Romanian power producers burning fossil fuels, namely OMV Petrom, Romgaz, and CE Oltenia, are reportedly asking the Ministry of Energy to reimburse them for the value of the CO2 certificates purchased for the power produced and sold at a capped price (RON 450 or RON 400 per MWh, depending on the period), in line with the price-capping mechanism, according to sources familiar with the matter consulted by Economica.net.

The three companies claim a total RON 830 million (EUR 160 million).

The price-capping mechanism is, however, ambiguous when it comes to the procedure for reimbursing this money.

In principle, the fossil fuel-based power companies should be reimbursed for the price of the CO2 certificates purchased for the power subject to price-capping, minus the 100% surcharge owed to the state for the electricity sold above the set price (RON 450 or RON 400 per MWh, depending on the period of time). Since the companies have not sold the electricity above the maximum set price, the Ministry must reimburse the full price of the CO2 certificates purchased by the companies for the power produced, subject to the price-capping system.

The power producers’ claims are added on top of the claims of the power suppliers, subject to the same price-capping system. They are entitled to recover the difference between the price paid on the market and the capped end-user price. This debt was estimated at the end of last year at around EUR 1 billion.

(Photo source: OMV website)