​The energy price cap-compensation support scheme will remain unchanged this winter, Energy Secretary Sebastian Burdugia said Wednesday during the US-Romania 2023 Economic Forum organized by AmCham. However, next year there will be new discussions with representatives of the European Commission regarding the future of the scheme. Burduza also said that there are quarterly estimates, but even if prices have fallen, there is no talk of any adjustment until next year because it is only a “snapshot.”

The minister claims that there is money to pay the demands of the suppliers and the delays will be compensated. On the other hand, Burduzha admitted that there is a need to replenish the budget of the Ministry of Energy in the next correction. The next clarification of the budget will take several more weeks, after the adoption of the package of fiscal measures. “We asked for 2-2.5 billion lei, but we will do another analysis,” Burduya said.

We remind you that the electricity and natural gas price cap scheme is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain from a financial point of viewwhich amounts to about billions of lei, which must be covered by the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Labor, given the growing gaps in the state budget.

Providers would not be opposed to changing the scheme by removing some beneficiaries, but they want the predictability of a decision being made at least six months before it is applied. Since the market is no longer free, it is not possible to predict prices in the event of a pattern correction.

Suppliers still need to repay about 3 billion lei to reach the June level with payments. Market operators complain that in anticipation of outstanding amounts, they are forced to take loans from banks, and “money is expensive.”