Under a multi-billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the EU and the World Bank, Romania has pledged to deregulate gas and electricity prices and align them to European levels by 2018.
Speaking at the Mediafax Talks about Energy conference last year, the head of Romanian energy watchdog ANRE, Niculae Havrilet, said that the government’s project on price liberalization will be considered successful only after identifying vulnerable, low-income consumers, and after finding ways to support them with energy bill payment.
According to the latest Eurostat data, the lowest average household electricity prices in the second half of 2012 were in Bulgaria (EUR9.6 per 100 kWh), Romania (EUR10.8) and Estonia (EUR11.2), while the highest prices were registered in Denmark (EUR29.7), Cyprus (EUR29.1) and Germany (EUR26.8).
When expressed in purchasing power standards, the lowest household electricity prices were found in Finland, France, Luxembourg and Sweden, and the highest in Cyprus, Germany, Poland, Portugal and Hungary.
The lowest average household gas prices in the second half of 2012 were registered in Romania (EUR2.7 per 100 kWh), Slovakia (5.1) and Estonia (5.2), and highest in Sweden (12.7), Denmark (10.8) and Greece (10.2).
Adjusted for purchasing power, the lowest household gas prices were recorded in Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Romania, France and Ireland, and the highest in Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Spain and Lithuania.
Natural gas price for household consumers in Romania rose 2% as of April 1, 2014.