“I’m worried that gas imports will largely go to SMEs. (…) If SMEs were law firms, for instance, they wouldn’t have a problem paying a few lei extra. But if we were to talk about small bread factories, for instance, where gas is a big part of the business, we might have a problem,” Nicolescu said Thursday at a conference held by the Romanian antitrust body.
Nicolescu added gas consumption exceeds domestic output during the winter period and Romania will have to import more.
“SMEs must know they are free to change gas suppliers and must learn market mechanisms. (…) I’m afraid Romania can’t afford to lose jobs right now and have SMEs close shop,” the minister said.
He also said Romania will honor its commitment to the European Union and deregulate the natural gas market as of January 1, 2015 for all non-household consumers. He added Romania has asked the European Commission to allow for schools, kindergartens and nursing homes to be included in the household consumer category and is awaiting a response from Brussels.