The price of gas sold on the Romanian Commodity Exchange (BRM) has increased 4.43 times in the last year, according to an analysis by the Intelligent Energy Association, which warns that this increase will be reflected in bills, which could double.
This increase in the price of natural gas will bring price increases in the chain to all products, increases that will probably be between 10-30%, according to AEI.
Gas prices traded on the exchange | July | August | Q4 | |
PMP 2020 | 39,78 | 36,88 | 61,74 | |
RCE 2021 | 160,40 | 163,39 | 180,80 | |
Increase 2020/2021 | 403% | 443% | 293% |
The transactions made on RCE with sales in the second half of 2021, show that this trend of price increase will continue in Q4 2021, probably reaching its peak in Q1 2022, when the price is likely to exceed 200 lei / MWh.
This situation is also reflected in the price of gas consumed by household consumers. Thus, all household consumers who switched last year the competitive market will pay for the next year higher prices by 75 – 105%. Respectively, a consumer living in a house paid an invoice of 778 lei in the coldest month of last winter and will pay an invoice of 1,592 lei in the winter of 2021/2022.
Given that many home consumers concluded contracts in the competitive market a year ago, contracts that are due to expire in July – September 2021, consumers should be very careful these days because contracts generally have extension clauses of the existing contract at the price communicated by the supplier by a simple notification, without the need to sign a new contract. Thus, the consumer will be in a position to pay these prices in the next year, in the absence of choosing another supplier.
Consumers must request from the current supplier the price offer for the new contract year, and compare it with the price offers from the ANRE price comparator and in case they identify better offers to choose another supplier.
We remind you that all consumers in the natural gas market have been transferred to the competitive market, since July 1, therefore the price increases will affect everyone.
The natural gas market was liberalized on 1 July 2020. The period 1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021 was conceived as a period in which consumers had to sign a natural gas supply contract. The regulations in force provided that, in the absence of entering a new gas supply contract by June 30, 2021 or if the customer did not send to his current supplier, by June 30, 2021, a letter expressing his refusal to continue a contractual relationship or a request to modify / complete the present contractual conditions / clauses, by the effect of the law the household consumer is transferred to the competitive market under the conditions and at the price established by the supplier.
Translated from Romanian by Service For Life S.R.L.