The increase in the number of prosumers in Romania is a chaotic one, depending on the funds obtained from the Ministry of the Environment, but also on the ability of each individual to invest in this regard, claims Mircea Man, vice-president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE).

“Today we are talking about 150,000 prosumers and by the end of the year we are talking about 200,000. It is a chaotic development, depending on how the funds are obtained from the Ministry of the Environment, on the capacity of each individual to invest. It is not a solution, as long as did not invest in the distribution systems over time. We did not see in PR4 (the fourth regulatory period) that the investments in European funds were substantial energy crisis, the Government came with a subsidy, I wonder what will happen from April 1, 2025. There are questions that the population is asking. Today, the authority is suffocated by petitions that refer strictly to invoicing to control and petitions is blocked in activities like this,” said Mircea Man, according to Agerpres.

According to him, after the way tariffs were approved in the fourth regulatory period, “very great care is also taken in the fifth regulatory period.”

“We have to see if the tariffs can be borne by the citizens. I don’t think that today or in a regulatory program I can come and make very large investments, knowing that the operation will turn out well, but the patient is dead. I mean , as a citizen, as a person who sees what the burden of paying consumption means, I come with a higher tariff, I don’t think there will be a solution that reconciles the investment program and what the population can bear, or this must either in a balance,” added the vice-president of ANRE.

On the other hand, Mircea Man emphasized that, for gas, there are more than 100 UATs, 100 municipalities that have expansions or establishment of distributions, which means that there is a real concern in this sense as well.

“Even if today we say that the future does not belong to gas distribution systems, I think it is a big step before bringing that comfort to UATs for development, for new production capacities,” said Mircea Man.