The energy price remained at high levels in the first half of this year, following the unusual situation between January and February, and there are no signs of decrease, said Ion Lungu, president of the Association of Electricity Suppliers in Romania (AFEER). The statement comes in the context in which the National Regulatory Authority for Energy (ANRE) announced on Friday an increase of up to 8% for electricity for the household consumers, starting with July 1st. “The price increase fully reflects what has happened in the energy market this year. There are two elements, first: what happened in January-February, when prices were totally unusual, it was a dry winter, with an increased consumption due to very low temperatures. Unfortunately, a second element appeared: these prices, although at the beginning of March seemed to tend towards calmness or normality, compared to the previous years, did not happen that way. The prices remained at a relatively high level”, said Lungu.

He showed that, on the spot market of the energy stock exchange, in May the price was about 50% higher than in the same period last year. “Still, they do not seem as elements that will generate the price decrease. The pessimists say that the price will continue to grow, and the optimists, say that it will remain as it is, but ideas of decline do not appear”, said Lungu, quoted by Agerpres.

According to the AFEER president, the situation is not only characteristic to Romania, but for the entire region, and is due to the lack of cheap energy resources, hydro and wind energy, all of these on a trend of increasing consumption. “What is certain is that energy on the wholesale market has values much higher than in recent years. But these prices are not just about Romania. There are equally high increases in Hungary, Bulgaria or Serbia if we were to talk just about our region. So it was a relative drought period, as a conference specialist said, it rained where it was not supposed to, and when it was not needed, because it has been raining, but not in the pools that collected and ensured a hydro flow. If you also look at Hidroelectrica, the flows are constantly lower than in the previous year. So we have lower flows, the wind did not blew very well, there are 10-15% decreases in the production wind energy. Thus all of this is on the trend of increasing consumption and decreasing the resources”, said Lungu.

In addition, some energy producers from Romania and the region have been in revision or experienced technical problems, which has further limited the supply of electricity in the market. The electricity price for households will increase by 8% from July 1st, according to the decision of the Regulatory Committee of the National Regulatory Authority for Energy (ANRE), stated on Friday, the representatives of the institution for AGERPRES.