Energy Regulatory Authority: Price of domestic gas does not have to match import price

The Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) says matching the price of natural gas produced domestically with that of imported gas is not an obligation imposed to Romania by the European Commission, with prices of the two local producers, Petrom and Romgaz, being twice as low as the import price.

These statements come in the context where, at the end of last year, Economy Minister Adriean Videanu said that by March 2010 Romania would present to the European Commission a programme targeting the progressive rise in the price of domestically-produced gas, in view of eventually matching the import price because he "received weekly requests from the European Commission to speed up the gas price deregulation process." Videanu said at the time talks had already started with Petrom and Romgaz on this matter.

The uncertainty of the situation affects both the two big local producers, which need significant funds for investments, and consumers fearing new price rises in a time of crisis, which find it impossible to budget for 2010.