Although Romanians have some of the lowest prices for electricity and natural gas in the EUR, low revenue bring the ratio close or above the EU average, when factoring in local purchase power.
Thus, household consumers in Romania paid, mid-2010, EUR10.52 per 100 kWh of electricity, up 8.1% on the year. Calculated on the purchase power, the price nearly doubles, to EUR20.25 per 100 kWh, while the EU average stands at EUR17.08.
By comparison, the French pay EUR15.98 per 100 kWh in nominal terms, but the fee calculated on the purchase power reaches EUR11.26, slightly more than half of the one paid in Romania and deep below the EU average.
Thus, France has the lowest electricity prices in the EU, calculated on population revenue, followed by Finland (EUR11.45), Greece (EUR12.75) and Great Britain (EUR14.32).
Romania ranks seventh in the EU with respect for electricity prices calculated on the purchase power.
The highest prices are seen in Hungary (EUR25.7), Slovakia (EUR24.7) and Germany (EUR23.2).
For natural has, Romanians paid EUR7.73 per gigajoule in the second half of last year, up 4.3% on the same interval of 2009, according to the Eurostat report. Calculated on purchase power, the fee almost doubles to EUR14.88, while the EU average reaches EUR15.88.
The French pay EUR13.96 per gigajoule, calculated on purchase power, but the nominal price is EUR15.98 per gigajoule.
Calculated on purchase power, the lowest prices in the EU are in Luxembourg (EUR10.9 per gigajoule), Great Britain (EUR11.6), Ireland (EUR12.7) and France (some EUR14), while the highest prices are in Bulgaria (EUR26.9), Hungary (EUR25.1) and Sweden (EUR23.8).
In nominal terms, the lowest gas prices are seen in Romania (EUR7.7 per gigajoule), Estonia (EUR11.1), Latvia (EUR11.3) and Great Britain (EUR11.7). The highest prices are in Sweden (EUR30.3), Denmark (EUR30.1), Italy (EUR21.9) and Holland (EUR19.8).
Romanian energy regulator ANRE recently said the price of natural gas paid by Romanian households and thermal power producers will remain unchanged until July 1, 2012, but industrial consumers will pay 10% more starting July 1, 2011.
Authorities based their decision on the increase of imported gas prices to $460 from $290 per thousand cubic meters and the changes in the gas mix used to calculate the unit cost for gas, or CUG.
The CUG for non-household consumers will be calculated on a mix of 77% locally made gas and 23% imported gas.
The CUG for household consumers will be calculated on a mix of 89% locally made gas and 11% imported gas.
The latest change in natural gas prices was operated by ANRE on July 1, 2009.
People close to the matter told MEDIAFAX recently that the price of natural gas delivered to households would remain unchanged until March 2012, while prices for some of the industrial consumers would grow by up to 30%.
The head of the IMF mission to Romania, Jeffrey Franks, told MEDIAFAX in May that the price of gas delivered to companies would rise, since the government committed to use a new calculation formula.
Authorities had pledged to set up a price adjustment calendar for industrial consumers by April 1, 2011, based on the unit cost of gas, or CUG.
This marker was overshot by the government, and the adjustment was included as a priority in the new letter of intent to the IMF, meaning the calendar should be set up before the IMF board meeting in June.