Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, the national leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), said on Tuesday evening after a meeting of the PNL leadership that higher subsidies for the energy and natural gas prices than those currently in force are not possible considering the budget allocated for them, according to Agerpres.

He was asked by journalists if PNL is considering a regulated price for energy and natural gas and what could be a solution to step in in the electricity and gas market in such a way that the prices paid by the final consumer decrease.

„So far, ANRE [the national energy regulatory body] and the ministries that cover the subsidies for the energy and gas prices have received all the bills for the November-March interval. We still do not have a completed month, for example April, which should be the first month in which we have analysed the value of the subsidies under the new scheme; when we have this month completed we do the analysis and come up with a decision to adjust the energy price subsidies. (…) We are now going to apply the emergency ordinance for April 2022-March 2023 and when we have the actual data on a compensatory amount for an entire month, we will make a decision,” Ciuca said at the PNL headquarters.

Asked if the government could come up with a new price reduction for energy and natural gas, that is, a higher level of subsidies, Ciuca said that is not possible considering the budget allocations.

„A reduction in the price more than it is now is not possible because we have to be honest and tell the people the truth. The budget is the one that we made public and this is the money we have to cover the subsidies for the energy and gas prices,” said Ciuca.

Source: Agerpres