Distributor Distrigaz Sud to ask market watchdog 20% hike of gas prices starting October

Prices for gas delivered to the population will increase today 12.5 percent and those for electricity will add 4.4 percent.

Distrigaz complained over 80 million lei losses it posted since the beginning of the year because of the consumption gap in winter versus summer. Arnaud explained that the company currently acquires import gas for 480 U.S. dollar per 1,000 cubic meters and estimates that by the end of the year the price will hike to 620 U.S. dollars.

Last week, an ANRE official said the price of gas will stop growing this year. Yet, the market watchdog promised to carefully analyze such requests from distributors.

Gas price last rose on February 1 when ANRE announced an 8.5 percent hike. In mid-June gas distributors asked for a 25 percent increase of the gas price in Romania, but the market watchdog said less.

Romania, which joined the European bloc on January 1 last year, now imports 38.31 percent of the entire quantity of gas it needs. The rest comes from the domestic production.


Source: NewsIn