Electricity prices "will rise"

The electricity price will increase for the final consumer and will reduce the investments in the energy field, consider the representatives of the Association of Businessmen in Romania and the Romanian Commodities Exchange have organized a press conference Wednesday about the effects of the new energy laws.

The participants at the meeting consider that, in its actual form, the law is the first legal monopoly over the last 20 years, regulated in Romania, but also in Europe.

They also believe that the law could favor a particular commercial company.

A competitive market is the essential condition in order to receive quality services at fair prices, pointed out the General Secretary of the Association of Businessmen in Romania, Cristian Parvan, at a conference on "New Energy Bill - obstacle to the functioning market economy" - held jointly with the representatives of the Romanian Commodities Exchange.

The president of Stock Exchange , Septimiu Stoica, showed what are the main complaints about both inappropriate state intervention on the stock market, in general, and on the new law in particular.

"We think we don’t make any mistake when we say that the main obstacle to the smooth operation of the exchange of goods in Romania has become the Romanian state. We face situations when the state not only competes, through its own institutions, regulated by law, as scholarship, but moreover it creates monopolies in this area.

"In the new law, it is textually said what in the old law did not exist, namely that is granted only one license for the electricity market participants, or this license is already accorded," said the President of the Grant.

We received the explanations from the General Director of Energy and Environment of the Ministry of Economy, Alexandru Săndulescu.

"What we need on the energy market is to have as many participants. Here’s the confusion that the Romanian Commodities Exchange speculate, speaking about the market participation, forgetting that the participation in the market is nothing but organization of the market.

"The state has no way to intervene in such a market – it is prohibited by EU legislation.

And in terms of the monopoly, the answer, given right by the European legislation is through regulation", said Alexandru Săndulescu.

The Romanian Commodities Exchange representatives said they do not exclude the possibility of recourse to the European institutions in order to find justice.

Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea
MTTLC, Bucharest University