The Ministry of Energy published on Friday the draft ordinance setting out how electricity and gas bills will be compensated this winter. The document comes with a series of calculation examples to illustrate the reductions consumers will benefit from.
Household consumers will be compensated if they fall within the legal consumption limits and do not benefit from the vulnerable consumer subsidy.
The compensation applies to bills issued between 1 November 2021 and 30 April 2022, for consumption billed for the period 1 November 2021 to 31 March 2022, irrespective of the type of bill – estimated or regularized.
For natural gas/electricity invoices whose amount is less than the compensated amount, customers will be compensated for consumption up to the full amount of the invoice.
The compensation granted to the household consumer will be shown separately in the bill/annex to the bill issued by the electricity/natural gas supplier, according to the draft.
A previous uncertainty is also clarified, namely how consumers living in blocks of flats benefit from the compensation, more specifically in the case of centrally heated condominiums and/or blocks of flats with a single consumption point serving the residential premises of the condominium or block of flats.
For the consumption point for district heating in a condominium and/or block of flats, the allocation to the consumption bands for each of the rental spaces shall be based on the consumption recorded at the consumption point in relation to the number of rental spaces.
The total financial impact on the state budget of the bill offsetting measure is RON 1,304,934,197, of which RON 494,204,246 for electricity bill offsetting and RON 810,729,951 for natural gas bill offsetting.
Electricity
Household customers whose electricity consumption between November 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022 is between 150 kwh-1000 kwh inclusive will receive a fixed compensation of 0.21 lei/kwh for this electricity consumption.
The compensation/kwh is the value in lei representing the arithmetic average of the regulated tariffs according to the secondary legislation issued by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) (tariff for electricity distribution service, tariff for transmission service and components of transmission tariff and tariff for system service).
The reference price taken into account for active energy is 0.68 lei/kwh and includes regulated tariffs and VAT.
Calculation example:
For example:
Ex. 1. electricity selling price = 0,92 lei/kwh
Compensation value = 0,21 lei/kwh.
Calculation of price determination after compensation = 0,92 lei – 0,21 = 0,71 lei/kwh
Final price of electricity for domestic customers – 0,71/kwh
Ex. 2. electricity selling price = 0,88 lei/kwh
reference price of electricity = 0,68lei/kwh.
Compensation value = 0,88 lei – 0,68 = 0,20 lei/kwh
Final electricity price for domestic customers – 0,68/kwh
Natural gas
Household customers benefiting from the compensation scheme for natural gas consumption are individuals whose natural gas consumption in the period from 1 November 2021 to 31 March 2022 is between 80 m3 and 960 m3, inclusive.
The compensation of natural gas consumption bills is made by applying a percentage rate of 25% to a reference price of 125 lei/MWh.
A percentage rate will be applied to calculate the gas compensation as shown in the table below.
Consumption value/ Period 1 November – 31 March |
Compensation value / November |
Compensation value / December |
Compensation value / January |
Compensation value / February |
Compensation value
/ March
|
80 m3 -960 m3 | 25% | 25% | 25% | 25% | 25% |
For the compensation of natural gas consumption, a reference value representing 80% of the estimated annual consumption has been taken into account as shown in the table below:
Annual consumption tranches
100-300m3
300-600m3
600-900m3
900-1100m3
1100-1200m3
The compensation applies to household customers who have entered gas supply contracts at a reference gas price higher than 125 lei/MWh. The percentage share of the compensation is determined by reference to the selling price of natural gas.
If, after the application of the compensation, the difference between the selling price of natural gas and the amount to be compensated is less than 125 lei/MWh, only the difference between the selling price of natural gas and the reference price of natural gas shall be compensated.
For example:
Ex. 1. gas selling price = 145 lei/Mwh
reference price of natural gas = 125 lei/Mwh.
Compensation amount determined as 25% = 145 lei x25% = 36,25 lei
Amount taken into account for compensation by reference to the 25% percentage = 145 lei- 36,25 lei= 108,75 lei
Amount of compensation granted: Gas sale price – Reference price = 145 lei – 125 lei = 20 lei
Ex. 2. natural gas selling price = 225 lei/Mwh
reference price of natural gas = 125 lei/Mwh.
Amount of compensation granted, determined as 25% = 225 lei x25% = 56,25 lei
Amount resulting from the application of the compensation percentage of 25% = 225 lei – 56,25 = 168,75 lei
Since the amount resulting from the application of the 25% compensation is greater than 150 lei, the amount of compensation is the amount determined according to the percentage.