Gas prices stable, but electricity could cost more

The Romanian National Authority for Energy Regulations (ANRE) decided that the price industrial consumers and households pay for natural gas remains stable in 2010. The national gas consumption dropped in 2009 by 17.5%.

As for the price for electricity, ANRE president Petru Lificiu explained that it could increase to match the inflation. The decision will be taken next week, according to Romanian press agency NewsIn.

The annual inflation rate went up in November, amounting to 4.65%, above analysts’ expectations, after consumption prices increased by 0.67% against October, especially after food and goods got more expensive, the National Statistics Institute (INS) shows.

In the years preceding the crisis, Romania used to consume around 17-18 billion cube meters of gas annually. The quantity was covered birth by internal production and imports. Romania’s national gas production is 11-12 billion cube meters, and the rest is imported from Russia, through third parties.

During the first 2009 semester, Romania’s gas consumption dropped 21% against the same period in 2008. Considering the first 11 months of the year, the consumption saw a slight come back, recording a 17.5-18% drop against the same period of the preceding year, according to ANRE data.

In regards to electricity consumption, this dropped by 8.8% in the first semester, and 8% after the first 11 months. Romania recorded in 2008 an inner electricity consumption of 54.6TWh, more than in 2007 – 53.3TWh. High voltage electricity supplies about 100 big industrial companies. Medium voltage electricity is used by approximately 14,000 – 15,000 economic agents and 100,000 households. Some eight million households use low voltage energy.