Romania’s energy market needs recovery and a sustainable approach, while we must find solutions for its normal and correct functioning, with long-term benefits on investments and for end customers, Chairman of the Association of Energy Suppliers in Romania (AFEER) Laurentiu Urluescu said on Wednesday at a specialist conference.
„The last few years have been extremely challenging for the energy sector. Especially for electricity and natural gas suppliers, who play a key role in the functioning of the market. All the changes and measures have had a direct impact on our activity and on the development of the energy market in the long term. Since 2020, the health, economic, energy and geo-political crises have led the Romanian authorities to take exceptional measures. In the energy sector, the measures aimed at capping/compensating electricity and natural gas bills; such measures, which were at a level not seen in the other EU states, initiated in 2022 for a short period, were then extended until March 31, 2026 for natural gas and June 30, 2025 for electricity. However, the subsidies established by law to help consumers have not been paid in full by the state, but most of them have been borne by suppliers, generating state debts of several billion lei to them (…) Romania’s energy market needs consolidation, long-term predictability and a sustainable approach,” Urluescu said.
He added that the amounts for compensation-capping in 2024, were almost entirely borne by suppliers, „who were forced to borrow from banks.”
„In the meantime, the responsible authorities only offer us assurances regarding the payment of these amounts, but they are slow to materialise. Currently, the budget allocated for 2025 provides for only RON 3 billion, an amount insufficient to cover the arrears and continue the compensation scheme. That is why we express our concern about the budgetary allocation of the new support scheme provided for by OUG 6/2025 and we ask for clarifications on the financing mechanism. Will this responsibility again remain in the hands of the suppliers? Under these conditions, it is easy for the state authorities to promise low prices and to set up support schemes on the pockets of others (suppliers), without pledging certain payment terms and without a real consultation of the financial impact of this scheme. The current situation puts suppliers in a precarious financial position, forcing them to take out loans to cover operational costs. They must pay in full the bills to producers, distributors, transporters, pay taxes to the state, including VAT and excise duties, while the state delays the reimbursement of the amounts owed, and, moreover, does not own certain payment terms.”
Urluescu added that, so far, suppliers have paid interest of hundreds of millions of lei, most of them being over-indebted.
„Moreover, they are sustaining losses that they cannot cover. According to the legislation, suppliers collect from customers only a small part of the invoice, the rest having to be covered by the state. Instead, they have to pay the full bills to producers (for the purchased electricity, for the green certificates, the cogeneration bonus), to pay the bills to the energy and gas transporters and distributors, as well as the taxes to the state (excise duties and VAT on consumers’ bills). It should be noted that, in the event of late payment of excise duty and VAT, the state charges late payment penalties; while on the other side there are numerous delays. We must recognise that any transition to deregulation will involve an impact, but we consider it essential that it is managed, so that the impact is minimised.”
The Association of Electricity Suppliers in Romania (AFEER) organised on Wednesday the ninth edition of its annual conference called „Re-liberalisation: Competition on the energy market to the benefit of all.”
The organisation, through AFEER Academy, has held seminars and speciality courses since 2020, with the interest from the participants being very high.
AGERPRES
