Citizens might have to pay more for natural gas. The company “Energocom” has submitted a request to the National Agency for Energy Regulation asking for a price of 24.31 lei per cubic meter of gas, excluding VAT. The request is to be examined by the regulatory authority, which will decide whether to approve, modify or reject the proposal, reports IPN.
At present, domestic consumers pay 20.30 lei for a cubic meter of natural gas, VAT included. If Energocom’s request is approved, the new price would reach approximately 26.25 lei, with VAT, an increase of 5.95 lei or about 29%. The current rate came into effect on September 1st.
According to Energocom, the request is driven by the increase in natural gas procurement costs. Since the last price adjustment request, submitted on July 15, the European gas market has registered an increase of over 42%. At the same time, the price development is explained by the intensification of tensions in the Middle East, the reduction in liquefied natural gas deliveries, the low level of European stocks, and competition with Asian markets for available volumes.
Energocom states that when approving the current rates, for the period of August-December, an average procurement price of 56.25 euros/MWh was taken into account. Subsequently, European quotations exceeded 75 euros/MWh. Energocom estimates that the reference price for October will reach approximately 76.6 euros/MWh and will remain at comparable levels in November and December. Under these conditions, the supplier claims that it procures natural gas at prices higher than those included in the current rates, accumulating negative tariff deviations.
At the same time, the company proposes adjusting the prices for the other categories of consumers. Thus, the requested price is 18.74 lei for a cubic meter at the entry points into the transport network, 19.33 lei at the exit from the transport network, 19.73 lei for high-pressure distribution networks, and 20.80 lei for medium-pressure ones. All prices indicated are without VAT.
The latest gas price increase came into effect on September 1st, when the rate for household consumers rose from 14.42 to 20.30 lei per cubic meter, including VAT. The increase was 5.88 lei or almost 41%. The new rate was approved by ANRE on August 21st.
