The authorities’ intention to expand the country’s gas network ignores the principle of economic efficiency and consumers will be the ones to bear these costs in their bills, said Silvia Vlasceanu, executive director of the Federation of Associations of Energy Utility Companies (ACUE).

Vlăsceanu pointed out that, although politicians say that only 30% of Romanians are connected to the gas network, in reality the degree of connection of the population is of 50%, because in many cities, including Bucharest, gas supply is not done through individual contracts with citizens, but through block of flats associations.

“There is no individual metering in the country, for this reason the percentage is somewhere around 50%, but let’s say we want to reach 90%. The initiative is commendable. But the law has eliminated, contrary to European provisions, the principle of economic efficiency. We are doing these works, but there must be an economic justification for these projects. Otherwise, although the law says that these investments are recovered through tariffs, these tariffs will be borne by the citizens of the concession area,” the ACUE official said, according to Agerpres.

Vlăsceanu stressed that, in this case, a limited number of consumers will have to bear these tariffs, which will generate problems even for the Regulatory Authority.

“So we are talking about the restricted concession areas where the citizens will have to bear these tariffs. Here problems arise, regarding the period. In order to be bearable, the costs will go for decades, which will create difficulties for distribution operators, especially in the case of the small ones,” she said.

According to Vlăsceanu, there are currently 36 distribution operators, and the small ones do not have the financial capacity to support these extensions and will refuse to participate in such projects.