Romanian energy trader Restart pulls out of the natural gas supply market

Restart Energy, an independent energy supplier in the Romanian market with a portfolio of around 50,000 customers on the electricity segment and 18,000 on the natural gas segment, announced its strategic decision to stop supplying natural gas and instead focus on green energy, starting 2022.

The company, besides other peers, was slapped a fine by the market regulator ANRE in October because it had not informed in advance its customers about provisions allowing it to increase the price under certain circumstances.

In the statement announcing its "strategic" decision of pulling out of the natural gas supply market, Restart Energy accused "a real state of discomfort among both natural gas suppliers and end customers" generated by the market volatility and the legislative changes recently adopted in Romania, "which we project will have a significant negative impact on the gas supply business."

The decision "will have no impact on the supply of natural gas to the company's approximately 18,000 customers, as they will be automatically and safely ported to the suppliers of last resort," Restart Energy said. Customers will reportedly have "sufficient time to choose another supplier" or decide to stay with the supplier of last resort.

In any case, the Government's decisions - the same decisions accused by Restart for the "significant negative impact on the gas supply business" - will protect the 18,000 customers passed by to the supplier of last resort, Restart assured.

The Government indeed capped the energy prices paid by households while promising energy suppliers to pay them the differential between the average market price and the capped price.

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