RO energy minister defends new "cap and subsidy" scheme

The new scheme aimed at capping the energy prices is in line with European regulations, and it protects the residential users and key sectors, such as the food processing industry and the SMEs, Romanian minister of energy Virgil Popescu argued.

He rejected the criticism expressed against the ordinance (OUG 119/2022), allegedly encouraged by the energy traders that "see their [high] profits at risk."

"All the proposals made by ANRE can be found in the text of the ordinance, and the text of the ordinance was cleared by the regulatory authority. The rest are mere speculations; I don't think that the ordinance violates any European directive," Popescu stated, quoted by News.ro.

The media quoted the Government's substantiation note drafted along the OUG 119/2022, which includes concerns related to some provisions potentially breaching national and European regulations. The concerns were originally expressed by market regulator ANRE, G4media.ro reported.

"[...] it was considered necessary to introduce measures to correct the functioning of the two markets [electricity, natural gas], measures decided at the political and governmental level, but which may contradict some provisions of the Electricity and Natural Gas Law no. 123/2012, of Directive 944/2019 and of Regulation 943/2019. The measures envisaged have the role of increasing the revenues to the state budget, strengthening the security of the National Energy System and the National Natural Gas System, as well as securing a constant and permanent supply of consumers during the winter period 2022-2023," the document quoted by G4media.ro reads.

(Photo: Gov.ro)