The price of gas of the Romanian Commodities Exchange (BRM) Spot market marked huge values for March, reaching up to 132.73 lei/MWh, while the lack of gas offers on the market created panic among suppliers, who are struggling to buy gas for their own portfolio customers, according to the Intelligent Energy Association (AEI).

The same panic determined the purchase of gas with delivery in the summer months at a price of 86.5 lei/MWh, according to AEI.

At the same time, the price of gas traded on BRM for the second half of 2021 is of 90.89 lei/MWh (compared to 52.89 lei/MWh in 2020) and 95.1 lei/MWh for the fourth quarter of 2021 (compared to 62.66 lei/MWh in 2020).

“The long winter has determined the massive extraction of gas from storage facilities, which, combined with the lack of gas available for storage, but especially with the lack of natural gas supply, will bring high gas prices in winter 2021/2022.

“Six months ago, we drew attention to the impact on the gas price following the application of GRP (Gas Release Program), a program through which ANRE intervened in changing the purchase price of gas on the wholesale market. Two months ago we stated that GRP will do more harm than GEO 114, imposed by the Government in 2019. The application of GRP on the Romanian natural gas market, by imposing a mechanism for setting the starting price of auctions for domestically produced gas purchased by suppliers artificially generated significant price differences between neighboring markets. Considerable price differences, of approximately 10-15 lei/MWh between the prices practiced at international level – reporting to the CEGH Vienna stock exchange – and those locally, determined the suppliers to focus on Romanian gas exports or swap operations,” AEI officials say.

They also claim that the price of natural gas for the population could increase by up to 13% starting with July 1, 2021.