Romanian lawmakers compel gas suppliers not to abuse retail market liberalization

The natural gas suppliers in Romania will have to cut the end-user prices in the next 12 months in line with the lower prices expected on the wholesale market after the Gas Release Program forced local producers to put on the market 40% of their output.

If they don't do this, the gas suppliers will have to pay a 90% tax on the extra revenues generated by the incomplete downward adjustment in the prices charged to end-users, according to a law passed by the Senate as the decision-making chamber, Profit.ro reported.

Should the price paid on the wholesale market be above the regulated price as of July 1, the gas supplier will be entitled to charge whatever retail price.

As of July 1, the residential natural gas market is being liberalized, a move that has been prepared through the Gas Release Program.

As a result of the global context, the wholesale market price is now much lower than the regulated price of RON 68 per MWh price currently paid by residential users. However, the natural gas suppliers have tried to avoid passing the lower wholesale prices to the end-users, as the retail market remains opaque.

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