Clarifications regarding the establishment of the new energy price ceiling for producers in Romania –

Energy, beyond the light bulb and socket, means numbers and carefully worked out calculations!

We lowered the price at which producers sell without being overtaxed from 450 lei/MWh to 400 lei/MWh for electricity, respectively from 150 lei/MWh to 120 lei/MWh for natural gas.

Naturally, these values ​​have been established after careful analysis of the energy markets.

It is true that lately the prices in the short and long delivery markets have been falling. Energy, however, as we all know its specifics, is not a commodity that we can sell at the stall from one day to the next. The price is formed based on a complex market algorithm, with long-term trades to base the consumption portfolio, short-term to align forecasts and finally trades to balance the market.

Energy is an important commodity in Romania’s economy that we must understand and analyze at its level of complexity.

I remind you that suppliers build their price based on long-term purchases, that is, they buy most of the energy they have to sell to customers. Through the new ordinance, we oblige suppliers to purchase at least 50% of the energy they promise to supply.

Basically, a fair price is made up of a purchase “basket”, as it is called by specialists.

I am publicly presenting some of the analysis made, based on the numbers, so that everyone has the same understanding of how the energy market works.

The market reports made by OPCOM – the operator of the electricity and natural gas market in Romania, for the months of January and February, the two completed months of this year, show us that:

Why did we lower the price at electricity producers to 400 lei/MWh? Simple! We analyzed the figures together with the specialists.

We clearly see from the ANRE data that in the purchase basket of suppliers for the months of January and February there was energy with prices over 500 lei/MWh, even exceeding the threshold of 1,000 lei/MWh. This energy was purchased by suppliers through long-term contracts, concluded perhaps even 10-12 months ago, when we remember that prices on the exchanges were high.

PZU is a tool to realize the schedule, for the day of delivery, the balance between the portfolio of bilateral contracts and the consumption forecast. Due to its specificity, PZU is a market with a high degree of volatility.

Average monthly prices recorded on PZU in the last 12 months were over 400 lei/MWh, except for February of this year, when the average price was 350.35 lei/MWh. And the average price of the last 12 months is 480.58 lei/MWh

The Ministry of Energy proposed a mechanism based on figures, coherent analysis and the principle of ensuring stability in the entire energy chain, from the producer to the final consumer.

The tendency of the price to fall below the average value of the last 12 months, a trend registered these days on the European spot markets, will give us the right to re-evaluate the support mechanism and intervene.

I remind you that producers can sell energy below the price of 400 lei/MWh. The updated ordinance stipulates the maximum price at which they can sell without being charged extra.

At this moment, imposing a sales price on producers below the price of 400 lei/MWh would be proof of irresponsibility.

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