The Ministry of Energy supports the approach of strict verification of compliance with the law by suppliers on the gas and electricity market, but, according to the legal framework, these verifications are carried out by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), states the responsible minister, Sebastian Burduja.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Energy „does not have the legal right to control energy suppliers”.
„The Ministry of Energy does not have the legal right to control energy suppliers, but – as a minister – I requested both officially and publicly, ANRE to check how suppliers on the gas and electricity market comply with the provisions of 27/2022 We have a constant and positive dialogue with the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) regarding the way suppliers on the gas and electricity market comply with the legislation in force, ANRE being the only institution authorized to carry out these checks,” said Burduja.
The clarifications come after Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu noted on Friday that there are suppliers who have „unreasonably” increased the prices of natural gas supply, in the context in which they have decreased in other European states.
He asked, in the Government meeting, the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, and the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) to analyze this situation.
In this context, Sebastian Burduja mentioned, in the clarifications sent by the Ministry of Energy, that notifications received from individuals and legal entities are forwarded to ANRE, which checks the amounts requested by suppliers under the compensation-ceiling scheme, with only the settlement requests validated by ANRE getting settled by the Ministry of Energy, respectively by the Ministry of Labor, within the limits of the amounts made available by the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Energy is the initiator of GEO 27/2022, due to which Romanians’ electricity and gas bills have been capped since last year. The Ministry of Energy has also made and is making constant efforts both for the compliance of the legislation in force by the suppliers, and for the settlement of the outstanding amounts to them, in the shortest possible time, to ensure the optimal functioning of the national energy system, the quoted source mentions.