Energy regulator: Romania's August gas imports up 3.5-fold YoY

Romania's August gas imports amounted to 2,229,828 MWh, up 3.5-fold YoY from just 625,339 MWh, shows data released by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) and consulted by AGERPRES. 

The ANRE report also includes gas import prices, which averaged at 81.79 lei per MWh in August, compared to 110 lei per MWh for domestically produced gas (35 percent higher). 

Until this year Romanian gas was far cheaper than import gas, but the situation reversed following OUG No. 114/2018 approved in December 2018, which provided for a three-year cap on the price of domestic gas at 68 lei/MWh, although the market had been completely liberalized since 2017. 

The regulatory act was subsequently modified by OUG No. 19/2019 that only kept the cap on the price of Romanian gas for households and thermal power stations, starting May 1, 2019. This resulted in a price increase for the natural gas traded on the exchange for industrial consumers, who increasingly began turning to imports. 

Both OUG 114/2018 and OUG 19/2019 are currently under debate in Parliament.