Gas suppliers will transfer to the state budget a tax from the additional revenues obtained with the liberalization of the market, said on Wednesday the chairman of the Commission for Industries and Services of the Chamber of Deputies, Iulian Iancu, according to Agerpres.

This is in the context in which, from July 1, the gas market will be completely liberalized. The big suppliers, E.ON and Engie, have sent their customers offers at the prices that were in force until now, while the relevant minister, Virgil Popescu, claims that the bills should decrease by 10-15%.

On the stock exchange, gas quotations with delivery in the second half of the year decreased to about 30-40 lei per MWh, compared to 68 lei, which was the regulated price so far.

“Liberalization is an irreversible process. But we must be aware that a free market is not free of rules, a free market without rules is a disaster for consumers. The price of natural gas has fallen at prices that no one suspected, and if from 68 lei in Vienna they went to 20 lei and in our country to 30 lei, from 30 to 68 there are 38 lei, which should be felt in the consumer price,” said Iancu.

According to him, the Commission for Industries decided on Tuesday to introduce in the Energy Law an additional tax, so that the suppliers transfer to the state budget the additional revenues.

“Now this difference is being taken up by suppliers, who have sent consumers a letter saying ‘we keep your price.’ It’s not a responsible attitude, but can you expect in a market without rules of ethics, morality? Excluded. Then what is needed? We have to create a rule, and the rule is called a ‘windfall tax’, meaning an amount that comes to you from the wind, from the sky, you did nothing to benefit from it. Then we introduced this tax yesterday in the law and says that at the price that a supplier pays to the producer we leave his supply margin, but increased, and the difference is totally taken over by this tax in the state budget for the vulnerable consumer,” he said.