The lower house had the final say on the matter.
Economy Minister Daniel Chitoiu said Thursday natural gas price deregulation will first apply to industrial consumers, starting December 2012. For households, the price deregulation will unfold in stages between 2013 and 2018, said the minister.
Under its precautionary stand-by agreement with the IMF, the European Commission and World Bank, Romania has to deregulate its natural gas and electricity market.
Household gas and electricity prices in Romania are currently regulated by energy regulator ANRE, for social protection reasons.