Electricity

Romania caps energy prices, rolls out windfall tax for electricity producers

Romania caps energy prices windfall tax for electricity producers

Photo: Ariananistor35 from Pixabay

Published

October 30, 2021

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

October 30, 2021

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Almost all members of the lower house of the Parliament of Romania voted for a bill limiting the prices of gas and electricity for households and small businesses and introducing support for a range of other categories of consumers. Electricity producers with the exception of power plants that run on fossil fuels will pay a tax on revenues from prices higher than EUR 91 per MWh.

Creating a system to shield households and small firms from the energy crisis impact took a long time, but Romania eventually managed to pass a comprehensive law for measures that will apply until March 31. President Klaus Iohannis signed the bill adopted by parliament in an almost unanimous vote.

Among other sources, the government will finance the support from a special 80% tax on power producers’ revenue from prices above EUR 91 per MWh. Power plants running on fossil fuels including cogeneration are exempted. Spain recently introduced a similar measure.

Eligible households to pay 13.7 to 20.2 euro cents per kilowatt-hour

Households would benefit from the compensation of up to 5.9 euro cents per kilowatt-hour which their electricity suppliers would receive from the government. The maximum consumption eligible for subsidies is 1.5 MWh, divided over the billing periods from November through March, though increases of up to 10% per month will be tolerated, the law stipulates. It translates to 9.93 kWh per day or 10.92 kWh per day, respectively.

It means a household won’t get any support if its consumption is higher than 327.6 kWh in a billing period of 30 days.

The lowest possible final price that consumers will pay including all charges and the value-added tax was set at 13.7 eurocents per kilowatt-hour, while the price before subsidy is capped at 20.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. Households are eligible for support if they consume at least 1 kWh per day of the billing period.

Greece is also limiting the impact of the energy crisis on households by subsidizing electricity and gas suppliers. Bulgaria only granted aid for companies for electricity.

Household gas users get 33% cut in fuel component in bills

Romania will pay up to 33% of the natural gas price component of household customer bills. Beneficiaries have a maximum consumption limit of 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas split into monthly installments (also with a 10% tolerance), at 10.6 kWh per cubic meter.

The lowest price is EUR 25.3 per MWh excluding VAT and surcharges. The tariff cannot exceed EUR 50.5 per MWh, or EUR 74.8 per MWh together with other costs. The minimum consumption is 7 kWh per day.

In case the gas bills for municipal units are higher than EUR 50.5 per MWh, the central government will cover 50% of the difference.

Special support was introduced for vulnerable consumers for both electricity and gas including a delay for payment. Small, medium-sized and micro enterprises, entrepreneurs and family businesses are exempted from a range of tariffs and excise duties.

Electricity and natural gas prices are capped for five months for households, hospitals, non-governmental organizations, religious institutions and social services.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

EDP Renewables inaugurates two wind power plants in Greece

EDP Renewables inaugurates two wind power plants in Greece

15 February 2025 - EDP Renewables declared its two new wind farms in Central Greece and Thessaly open, adding almost 70 MW to the transmission grid

Serbia and Hungary continue to strengthen energy cooperation

Serbia, Hungary continue strengthening energy cooperation

14 February 2025 - Minister Đedović Handanović and her Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó discussed strengthening bilateral energy cooperation

Cypriot minister not optimistic GSI cable project Greece Turkish intimidation

Cypriot minister not optimistic about cable project with Greece amid Turkish intimidation

14 February 2025 - Cypriot Minister of Finance Makis Keravnos said the GSI undersea cable project still faces very serious political obstacles

ETIP SNET seeks input strategic paper AI smart grids

ETIP SNET seeks input for strategic paper on AI in smart grids

14 February 2025 - ETIP SNET drafted a strategic position paper – guide for unlocking AI and GenAI potential in smart grids and the energy transition