Electricity bill in Romania to grow by 4.7% in 2012 to support renewable energy

Electricity consumers in Romania will have to pay by 1.12 percent more this year compared to last year, while their electricity bills will grow by 4.76 percent next year, as they the cost of supporting renewable energies will grow. “At an estimated weight of 4 percent of the wind energy production for 2012, the Romanain Association for Wind Energy has calculated an influence in the price of electricity of 4.76 percent, which will lead to a 0.23 percent grow in inflation,” according to the Association, quoted by Mediafax.

The National Authority for Regulation in Energy (ANRE) announced in 2010 that the influence of renewable energy sources in the final price of electricity has grown constantly in the last years, from RON 0.02 per MWh in 2005, to RON 1.21 in 2009 and RON 2.85 last year. Depending on the number of green certificates awarded for the energy production from renewable sources, ANRE was estimating at the time that the price influence would be between RON 7 and RON 14 in 2011. The Romanian legislation currently supports renewable energy projects through the green certificates system, awarded for the electricity produced from renewable sources and delivered to consumers. Investors recover money both through the sale of energy, and through green certificates they can trade on the free market. Electricity suppliers have to buy a certain yearly quota of these, according to ANRE ruling. A previous ANRE estimation pointed to EUR 10.5 billion that energy consumers will most likely pay to support renewable energies by 2013. editor@romania-insider.com