The bill, which deregulates energy tariffs, is a priority for the Government and will be sent to the Parliament for debates.
Energy prices paid by Romanian households are regulated by ANRE, for social protection reasons. The European Commission and the International Monetary Fund have asked the government to liberalize prices, bringing them to EU levels.
The liberalization of natural gas to households will start next year. Imported gas is three times more expensive than locally made gas.
An official document obtained by Mediafax Wednesday shows the Government will deregulate electricity tariffs for both industrial and household clients in several steps starting this fall, as part of a stand-by loan agreement signed with the IMF.
Price deregulation is set to unfold in six separate rounds for corporate clients, between September 2012 and January 2014, reads the document.
Additionally, the government plans to eliminate a social tariff applicable to vulnerable consumers, the document noted. The social tariffs, aimed to protect low-income consumers from expensive electricity bills, will be lifted in three stages, between 2013 and 2015.