EC agreed to debate the request for a functional energy market
The European Commission accepted that, within the Council of Ministers of October 15, the joint request of Romania, Bulgaria and Greece regarding a functional energy market be debated, the Minister of Energy declared, on Wednesday, at the briefing at the end of the Government meeting , Sebastian Burduja.
“Romania’s request was accepted by the European Commission, a joint request with Bulgaria and Greece, to discuss, to debate within the Council of Ministers in Luxembourg, from October 15, our request regarding a functional energy market, in fact, an energy union as the founding fathers wanted it. (…) If we oblige ourselves and I believe that we respect the European rules, including through the lens of the decarbonization process, of the green transition, then we certainly ask to have the same rights, in fact, access to energy at a competitive price, comparable to the price that other countries pay. I am referring strictly to the prices on the day-ahead market. They are not prices that affect the bill of ordinary Romanians or companies who pay these electricity bills, because the prices are capped there. But, obviously, the suppliers also buy from the market the next day”, explained the minister.
He presented a series of graphs, according to which, on July 11, Romania paid 190 euros/MWh, France 78 euros, Spain 86 euros, the Czech Republic 100 euros, Austria, 75 euros and Hungary 264 euros, and on September 2 in our region, the prices were the highest in the energy union, namely 234 euros/MWh in Romania, coupled with Bulgaria, with a very similar price, with Greece and Hungary, while the price was 104 euros in France, 116 euros in Iberian Peninsula, 115 in Germany, etc.
“So what’s going on? Well, there are two variables here. On the one hand, we’re discussing what the interconnection network looks like, and it’s very interesting to note that, as you can see from these maps, beyond Austria, so east of Austria, the prices are going up a lot. Because both Austria and Slovakia, repeatedly, have not fulfilled their commitments to the neighboring markets. Therefore, the cheap energy that France produces, let’s say, because it has a lot of nuclear power, or other countries in Western Europe, we only benefit if the Austrians and Slovaks develop these interconnection capacities, if the cheap electricity from the West reaches Eastern Europe. And it’s not just our case, but also the case of Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary even,” said Burduja.
The minister added that, based on a study that transport operators from Romania, Greece, Bulgaria did, centered on complex analyses, the three countries sent a letter to the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, and will request certain measures .
“In the medium and long term, the best measure is to increase the interconnection capacity in the states that have not fulfilled these commitments. So, we aim to put a healthy, fair pressure on Austria, Slovakia and perhaps other states in the energy union to and develop this interconnection capacity, because it is possible that there are cases where the energy from the east is cheaper than that from the west and cannot be taken in the opposite direction. (…) So, until we solve these interconnections, we are not discussing a functional, correct energy union, and, as Camil Petrescu once said, “justice is above us and is for everyone and for all time”. So this should be a matter of fairness”, pointed out Sebastian Burduja .