UPDATE

GEO 114/2018 was published in the Official Gazette from December 29th.

Initial article

The GEO to increase taxation in several economic sectors, including the energy sector, was adopted in the December 21st meeting of the Government. The newly introduced measures were presented by Government representatives, but the text of the GEO has not yet been published in the Official Gazette, so the final form is unknown. Meanwhile, Order 224/2018 of the Energy Regulatory Authority – ANRE, published in the Official Gazette on December 22, introduces significant increases in the money contributions due by companies with activities licensed by the Authority.

All the measures included in the first form of the GEO, published on the website of the Ministry of Finance on December 18, were maintained in the document adopted by the Executive three days later.

2% Turnover Tax

The most recent form of GEO that we know introduces two new paragraphs in Law 160/2012, stating that ANRE will no longer decide on the level of the money contribution perceived from the licensees and requires that this “money contribution from the holders of licenses for electricity, heat in cogeneration for the power component, and natural gas is equal to 2% of the turnover achieved by them from the activities that are subject to the licenses granted by ANRE “.

Gas price capping

The Executive has maintained capping the gas price for domestic production to 68 lei/MWh for a period of three years until February 2022. “During the period 01.04.2019 – 28.02.2022, the producers, including their subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the same group of economic interest carrying out both extraction activities and sales activities with natural gas extracted from Romania have the obligation to sell at the price of 68 lei/MWh the quantities of natural gas resulting from the current domestic production activity to the suppliers and final eligible customers. During this period, the producer has the obligation to sell to the suppliers, under conditions regulated by ANRE, in order to ensure the full consumption of the household customers from the current production and/or storage.”

Also, the GEO establishes that, by way of derogation from Law 123/2012, “ANRE will establish a specific import / domestic gas mix for the consumption of non-domestic final customers”.

Controlled prices in the power market

ANRE will control the prices on the regulated electricity market, similar to the gas price capping move, as the generators will have the obligation that, between 1 March 2019 and 28 February 2022, to sell to the suppliers of last resort, the electricity required to cover the consumption of household customers, at prices regulated by ANRE.

Only after they have ensured the consumption of household customers, manufacturers will have to publicly and non-discriminatorily offer all available electricity on the competitive market. For their part, the suppliers of last resort (FUIs) are obliged to ensure the electricity supply, “under reasonable conditions and at reasonable prices, transparent, in a manner easily comparable and non-discriminatory, according to ANRE regulations”.

Also, for almost three years, “household customers who have exercised their eligibility right have the right to return to regulated market.”

The electricity and natural gas suppliers will recover the differences in acquisition costs in the years 2018 and 2019 which were not recovered because of the regulated prices, no later than 30.06.2022, according to the ANRE regulations, the OUG also says.