Only 20 energy suppliers have more offers for household consumers, according to the price comparator of the National Energy Regulatory Authority, compared to 80 last year, according to a statement from the Intelligent Energy Association.

“I stressed last year in an article…that legislative changes in the natural gas market will drastically reduce the number of suppliers which will sell natural gas to domestic consumers and only a few suppliers will remain in the market, most of them multinational companies. If last year over 80 suppliers offered natural gas, today only 20 suppliers offer natural gas to all household consumers, on the ANRE Price Comparator, of which the first 10 offers are from multinational companies and absolutely all Romanian supply and distribution companies disappearing from the biddings”, it is shown in the release.

In addition, if at the end of December 2021 the best price offer for household consumers was of 420 lei/ MWh (VAT included), today the lowest offer is of 640.68 lei/MWh. This in the conditions in which last year the lowest offer was of 110 lei/MWh, according to Agerpres.

“But it is surprising that the largest gas supplier for the population in Romania offers the highest price in the market with an offer of 1,292.65 lei/MWh, even if the purchase price of gas on the Romanian Commodity Exchange has decreased from 884,515 lei/MWh in December 2021, to 461,492 lei/MWh for January 2022. This is on the background in which the payment of guarantees is required and additionally the payment of a monthly amount of 142.02 lei/month, in the form of a subscription,” says AEI.

They show that on December 31, 2021, the Energy and Gas Law was amended, and the change of supplier is made with the payment of sums to the gas company, so that even fewer will change their supplier.

So far, only 10% of gas and 15% of electricity consumers have switched to the traditional supplier in their area.

“Decrease in the number of suppliers in the market, new legislative and financial barriers to change of suppliers, lack of the institution for alternative settlement of gas and energy market disputes, to which is added the deep disappointment of gas and electricity consumers, constantly misled as for energy prices in the last year, it is the recipe that will not allow the decrease of gas and electricity prices in 2022,” it is also shown in the AEI release.