The increase in gas price for households expected for October could be deferred

The Government announces that the price increase in natural gas delivered to households and scheduled for October 1 will most likely be deferred due to a dispute with EU Commission’s DG Enterprise on an alleged ban on natural gas exports from Romania.

On August 25, a delegation of the Government led by Razvan Nicolescu, the Ministry Delegate for Energy, was in Brussels for consultations with representatives of the Directorate-General for Energy on national and regional natural gas-related matters. As the energy liberalization timetable Romania undertook to respect based on an agreement with the International Monetary Fund in 2012 provides a price increase by 3 percent from October 1, the issues arisen as regards the said interdict will determine a delay in implementing the measures required by the liberalization strategy.

“There is also a major divergence with the Directorate-General for Enterprise on an alleged ban on natural gas exports from Romania. We asked the Directorate-General for Energy to get involved in resolving the dispute, which has been accepted. We informed them that until this situation will be clarified, the Romanian State reserves the right to postpone implementation of the measures included into the liberalization schedule for natural gas for population. Accordingly, we intend not to enforce the price increase in natural gas for households starting October 1 as agreed by the Boc Government with the EU Commission”, explained Razvan Nicolescu in a press release from the Department for Energy.

Additionally, talks between the Romanian delegates and the EU representatives concerned the Ukrainian crisis in relation with Russia, Romania’s interconnection with neighboring countries, the potential of the Black Sea in terms of natural resources and the approach of the EU Commission with respect to shale gas.