Utility companies complain that new tariffs in Romania don’t cover their costs

The electricity distribution tariffs set for 2024 by Romania’s energy sector regulator do not favor massive investments in distribution networks, necessary to facilitate the imminent energy transition, warns the Association of Utility Companies (ACUE).

“It is the third year in a row when tariffs do not fully cover the distributors’ costs. The additional costs generated by the price explosion in the wholesale market from 2022 are expected to be recovered by the distributors over a period of 5 years. The cost of the capital required to make the investments is not covered by the current regulations, and the tariff setting methodology is not adapted to the objectives that our country has assumed in the complex process of the energy transition,” ACUE explains.

The distribution operators in Romania have already accessed EUR 1.1 billion from the Modernization Fund and have asked the authorities to supplement the non-reimbursable support that will relieve the tariffs paid by consumers and that will facilitate much greater investments in the network, for their benefit.

To co-finance these investments, the distributors need sufficient income to support the implementation of the projects, given that the companies have not recovered financially after the crisis year 2022, when they accessed substantial loans to support current operations, according to ACUE.

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