Romania's Govt. will cap electricity and gas prices for another year after end-March

The Romanian Government decided on February 24 to cap the electricity and natural gas prices for households and small enterprises for another year after the current support scheme expires at the end of March.

The impact on the budget, including the support schemes for large companies, is estimated at RON 14.5 bln (EUR 2.9 bln, just over 1% of GDP) for the three quarters until the end of 2022, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca announced, according to Hotnews.ro.

In principle, at least part of the impact should be offset by the revenues generated by the supplementary taxes levied from power generation companies (not including thermal power plants) that sell their output at a price above a certain threshold (EUR 90 per MWh under the scheme that expires at the end of March).

The structure of maximum prices set by the Government for the electricity delivered to households and small enterprises is similar to those in force until the end of March: RON 0.68 per kWh of electricity for households with small consumptions (under 100 kWh per month), RON 0.8 per kWh for those using 100-300 kWh per month and most likely (this was not specifically said by PM Ciuca) RON 1 per kWh for the rest of the households.

Large non-household users with social functions (schools, hospitals) will pay RON 1 per kWh at most, while the rest of non-household users will be supported under a special scheme that reduces their costs by some 20%.

For natural gas, households with monthly consumption of up to 1,200 cubic meters will pay RON 0.31 per kWh.

(Photo source: Gov.ro)