Parliament investigates the increase of energy prices
The special committee continues its inquiry into the soaring prices for electricity and natural gas
Corina Cristea, 12.10.2021, 13:50
A special Parliament committee is investigating the reasons behind the price
hikes for natural gas and electricity. So far, a number of factors have been identified.
Europe as a whole is confronted with a surge of energy prices. An additional
explanation for Romania is the full liberalization of the energy market starting
July 1. Energy providers took advantage of the situation, and 38 energy
companies broke the law in September, Claudiu Dolot, the head of the National Authority
for Consumer Protection, told the committee. The most serious violations
included the failure to observe contract terms for the distribution of
electricity, some of the distributors choosing to change the terms of the
contract without informing consumers. On Monday, Romgaz executive director, Airstotel
Jude, appeared before the committee, mentioning a natural gas deficit and the
increase of consumption as some of the causes:
First of all, the low temperatures reported over January-April, 2021. For
the first time, Romgaz extracted the entire quantity of natural gas stored in
underground deposits in 2020. The second reason is overinflated consumption,
which increased exponentially compared to 2020, both due to post-pandemic economic
growth, and the need to store the necessary amount of natural gas in
underground deposits for the 2021-2022 cold season.
The Romgaz leadership gave assurances the company will be able to cover the
thermal energy input for those producers that have already signed contracts.
The announcement comes amidst growing fears that winter is coming and natural
gas prices will explode, and that gas reserves could possibly deplete. The Unit
3 at Cernavodă
power plant will be rendered operational in 2030, at which point Romgaz will be
able to cover 30% of the total energy input, Cosmin Ghiţă, executive director
of Nuclearelectrica also told the Parliament special committee.
I
would like to call on you and your colleagues who are part of European fora and
various political parties, to support nuclear energy as a possible solution,
also given the current debate at the level of the European Commission regarding
the inclusion of nuclear energy as a technology for producing sustainable
energy.
In
Brussels, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said
the Commission has decided to provide incentives to member states to cut back
on energy prices and redistribute the profits obtained from the increase in
energy prices to disadvantaged competitors. On Wednesday, the Commission is
expected to present short-term support measures, while long-term solutions will
be discussed at the EU summit of October 21-22.
