Gas Bills Under Scrutiny

• Lower Chamber Abuse Committee says bills are 25% inflated l Former ANRE management accused of legalizing the theft through mesmerizing calculation formula

A new scandal burst out on the energy market last week as Adrian Gurzau, Vice Chairman of the Abuse, Corruption and Petitions Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, claims that natural gas bills are 25% inflated due to a legal scheme sanctioned by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) to make the transition from invoicing cubic meters to invoicing kWh.

Interviewed by Bursa, Gurzau stated: "Following the investigations I conducted with the help of several energy specialists, I came to the conclusion that ANRE, the former Tariceanu Government and the natural gas distributors invented calculation formulas by which they inflated bills by some 25%. Signatures are now being collected to endorse a request to Parliament to immediately order the Abuse Committee to investigate the case, hear the persons involved and take the necessary legal measures. I hope that the inquiry panel will be assembled in two or three weeks. It will include MPs from all the political parties. I hope that Autumn will not find us with an incorrect natural gas price. Those responsible for this theft must answer before the court."

MP Adrian Gurzau (PD-L) also said he had forwarded his report to party colleague Petru Lificiu, the incumbent President of ANRE and, upon receiving it, Lificiu had asked the relevant departments of the Authority to provide explanations regarding the formula for calculating the price of gas and the related normative acts. He commented that clarification should be reached by the end of the month. "Both Mr. Lificiu and I, as well as other colleagues of ours in Parliament want to find out what happened with the calculation formula and take the necessary steps to make sure that individual consumers receive correct invoices for the gas they use," added Adrian Gurzau MP.

The very substantial report made by Gurzau reveals problems with the gas meters, as well as with the calculation of the higher caloric power. Gurzau told BURSA that, if the future inquiry panel were to find flaws in the calculation formula, the resolution would still be in ANRE"s power. Thus the regulator would be able to rapidly take the necessary steps to modify the normative acts so that consumers may pay a fair price natural gas through a reduction of the price by the unjustified difference.

The invoice calculation formula is not the only problem that the PD-L MP identified on the gas market. Gurzau also wants to investigate the natural gas consumption basket and the ratio between imported gas and domestically extracted gas. The point is to find out why Romanians pay so much for gas, considering that approximately 70% of the consumption is covered by domestic gas, which costs half as much as imported gas. Other investigation topics include the observance of privatization contracts by natural gas distributors and suppliers, as well as the authorities contract management efforts.

Gurzau"s aim is to increase the quota of domestic gas in the consumption basket in order to reduce the retail price, considering that Russian imports are much more expensive. He also wants to understand why the price of Romanian gas should be aligned to the price of imported gas, considering that a reference price does not exist and no European regulation is forcing Romania to do so.