The leader of the UDMR, Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor, says that the European Commission cannot impose certain requirements on the consumption of electricity or gas for European citizens during the winter and that this can only be a recommendation: “You have to create a police of thermometers, temperatures in the house , or what do you want to do?”.

Kelemen Hunor, President of UDMRPhoto: Government of Romania
  • “This is an intention, a discussion. No binding decision has been made regarding the member states. A meeting of energy ministers will be held at the end of the month.
  • Some things can be done, some cannot. You can make recommendations, but credibility is hard to do. Who controls? Do you need to install a thermometer, temperature police in the house or what do you want to do?
  • You can’t compare how much a German consumes, and then reduce it by 15%, and how much my mother consumes in the country, and then reduce it by 15%. This means that they have to stay in the dark, because in Romania there are 3.5-4 million users who consume less than 100 kW, which means a refrigerator and 2-3 light bulbs in the house. What to reduce from there? Fridge or turn off the light,” said Kelemen, as quoted by News.ro.

He says that such comparisons do not make sense, they are useless:

  • “We can give recommendations. Everyone can save a little, but you can’t say to stay at 18 degrees in your house. In state institutions, it is possible to regulate in different ways. We should know what we are talking about.
  • Who will come to my house to check whether it is 19 or 20 degrees, what will be the fine? Lock me at home, turn off the gas? There will be recommendations, but we must clearly say that we are not doing this for the European Commission, but for us, for our budget.”

The Deputy Prime Minister assured that there will be electricity and gas in Romania in winter, but people must be brought to justice.

The European Commission proposed a plan of measures to reduce electricity consumption in member states, as well as limiting the income of energy companies and introducing a “crisis contribution”. Proposals include reducing peak-hour energy demand and overall electricity consumption.