Postponing the adjustment of natural gas prices until September 1 and examining the suspension of VAT on gas are among the proposals formulated by civil society during the public consultations organized by the National Agency for Energy Regulation. Another request aims to increase transparency regarding the procurement strategy and the use of Energocom’s financial resources, IPN reports.
However, ANRE representatives rejected the idea of postponement. They explained that by the end of July, negative financial deviations of approximately 93.8 million lei had accumulated, and maintaining the current price would lead to their increase. If international prices remain at the current level and the adjustment is postponed until the end of the year, the deviations could reach about 1.1-1.2 billion lei.
In this regard, the general director of ANRE, Alexei Taran, pointed out that a potential delay would not eliminate costs, but would lead to their accumulation for subsequent periods. According to the estimates presented during the consultations, delaying the adjustment by one or two months could later add approximately 50-70 bani to the price of a cubic meter of gas, depending on the delay period.
On the other hand, the discussions focused on the transparency of the purchases made by Energocom. Participants requested the publication of more information about the timing of gas purchases, the price formulas applied, and the costs that end up being included in the final price paid by consumers. At the same time, it was proposed to establish clearer rules for the procurement strategy. One of the options involves the gradual contracting of the necessary gas, according to a pre-established schedule, so that it can be tracked whether the supplier adheres to the procurement strategy and if the purchases are distributed over time.
In response, the ANRE representatives specified that the company’s procurement strategy includes annual, quarterly, and monthly products, as well as purchases on the spot market. Moreover, the regulator maintains that the decisions regarding the specific timing of purchases are part of the supplier’s commercial activity, and the authorities cannot directly intervene in these matters.
On the other hand, regarding transparency, ANRE admitted that publishing a larger volume of information could clarify some of the questions that have arisen in the public space. The regulator announced that it will examine, together with Energocom, the possibility of publishing additional indicators regarding purchases and prices, within the limit of information that is not protected by trade secrecy.
