There are preconditions for reviewing the natural gas tariff and decreasing it by 30%, said energy experts, who requested the National Agency for Energy Regulation to stage a public meeting to consider this possibility.
In a news conference at IPN on January 18, Sergiu Tofilat, expert of “WatchDog” community, said that a year ago the Agency should have reviewed the natural gas tariff down. Owing to this delay, the consumers unreasonably paid over 1 billion lei in 2017. This delay is political in character and the government will most probably leave the adjustment of the tariff for autumn, when it will be closer to the parliamentary elections. Until then the people will unjustifiably pay another 800 million lei.
Expert Ruslan Surugiu said the methodology of calculating the natural gas tariff provides that this is adjusted at the start of each year and the tariff in the course of the year is reviewed only if the import price of gas undergoes changes. The tariff should have been decreased last summer when the import price of natural gas decreased significantly. It is now the start of the year and the National Agency for Energy Regulation delays again the revision of the tariff.
Sergiu Ungureanu, another energy expert, said the revision of the natural gas tariff should also lead to the revision of the electric power and heat tariffs and these should be decreased too. “The tariffs should be reviewed now, without delay. This money could be embezzled,” stated Sergiu Ungureanu.
According to Tudor Soitu, “WatchDog” expert and former deputy chairman of the Court of Auditors, the National Agency for Energy Regulation should review the tariff down also because of the fluctuations on the currency market. The current tariff was calculated at a rate of 22 lei per US dollar, but now the U.S. currency costs 17 lei.
Household users pay 6.3 lei, including VAT of 8%, for a cubic meter of natural gas. According to the estimates of experts, the tariff should be reduced to 4.2 lei.
