Concerns over fuel prices
Fuel prices rise again in Romania.
Bogdan Matei, 19.08.2026, 14:00
Diesel has become more expensive again in Romania and has risen back above the 10 lei threshold (the equivalent of around two euros) per litre at most major petrol station networks, just two days after prices fell following a reduction in the excise duty.
Interim Economy Minister Irineu Darău (USR) says it is unrealistic to expect prices to be kept under control or to guarantee a specific price, or even a price cap, for fuel. At a time when not only the price of a barrel of oil fluctuates, but there are also all kinds of problems with supply flows, no rational person can promise a certain price, the minister adds.
The Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Romania points out that energy costs risk rising significantly in the coming months, and companies will end up paying dearly for a crisis they did not cause and cannot resolve on their own. Estimates indicate increases of 15-20% when contracts are renewed.
Since price capping ended, companies have been paying the market price. For an SME, energy now costs between 0.85 and 1 leu per kilowatt-hour, while the total price on the bill, including taxes, transmission and distribution, often reaches 1.4-1.8 lei per kilowatt-hour, excluding VAT.
President of the Bucharest-Ilfov SME Association, Felix Căprariu: “At the moment, we estimate that the amount of energy we will consume during the winter will double compared with the summer. This doubling will clearly bring a price increase component, due to the fact that production quantities will remain at the same level. The renewable energy that we are promoting today, if it is not supported by storage capacity, unfortunately will not be an ideal solution. We cannot fight nature. If nature blocked Nuclearelectrica, we should have anticipated this. And we should have been prepared through the other production capacities, given that we have investments that have been made, at advanced stages, but not yet commissioned.”
Felix Căprariu also says that a genuine energy-efficiency programme dedicated specifically to small and medium-sized companies needs to be launched : “We propose that the ministry establish a working group to identify solutions, together with us, regarding the energy component for the SMEs sector. If we look at the national strategy, unfortunately we do not identify a chapter dedicated to this important sector of the Romanian economy. This demonstrates the great concern for what energy consumption means for the non-household consumer, and especially for the one who currently represents around 10% of prosumers, but owns more than half of the prosumers’ production capacity.”
From the opposition, Social Democrat MP Bogdan Ivan, a former Energy Minister, is asking interim Prime Minister and liberal Ilie Bolojan to request that the Finance Ministry, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) and the Competition Council carry out checks on the fuel operators’ market, in view of the increase in Diesel prices, which he describes as aggressive. (EE)
