The dismissed Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, said that he proposed the exemption from overtaxation of energy producers whose source is gas or coal, according to e-nergia.ro.

“We came up with a correction of this amendment, we are trying to exclude the producers of electricity based on fossil fuels, where the CHPs and coal – CE Oltenia, come in – yes, there the production cost is much higher than 450 lei/ MWh and of course we are not talking about taxation. Those who have benefited a lot from the increase of this price, so that the market closes at the highest price, are those from the production of renewables, where Hidroelectrica and nuclear enter stage, where the production costs are lower.”

The Minister made these statements after the debate in the commissions of the Chamber of Deputies of the draft law regarding the amendment of GEO 118/2021. One of the amendments included there, which has already passed the Senate, refers to the establishment of an 80% tax applied to the revenues obtained by all electricity producers for sale prices higher than 450 lei/MWh. The additional tax would have been applied this winter.

Bucharest Power Plant Electrocentrale officials and those of CE Oltenia complained that the overtaxation above that price level will deeply affect them, because they have a production cost that exceeds the level of 450 lei.