The Smart Energy Association warns that the natural gas voucher scheme, under discussion for the 2025-2026 cold season, risks not representing real support for the population, as their financing would come, indirectly, also from the additional amounts paid by consumers through higher bills.

“In a period when people are anxiously calculating their bills from one month to the next, any initiative that promises financial support seems, at first glance, welcome. However, when the state comes up with the idea of ​​a gas voucher, a question naturally arises: is this a necessary measure or just a decision with an image impact?”, claims AEI president, Dumitru Chisăliță.

In this context, he draws attention to the fact that Romania already has a legal mechanism to support those truly affected – the Vulnerable Consumer Law.

“It provides aid for low-income individuals and families, that is, exactly the category that needs protection the most. Instead of this system being improved, simplified and expanded where needed, the state seems to be choosing a parallel path: a new law, a new program, a new voucher,” the press release states.

At the same time, the analysis shows that “this action resembles populism more than a public policy.”

“Populism works simply – it does not build long-term solutions, but delivers quick measures, easy to understand and easy to present in front of the cameras. A voucher is exactly this type of instrument – easy to communicate, electorally attractive, but questionable in terms of overall efficiency,” the specialist notes.

In his opinion, aid for vulnerable consumers is often bureaucratic and does not cover all those who are on the edge.

“Many Romanians earn ‘a little too much’ to receive support, but ‘much too little’ to easily overcome price increases. In this gray area, the state can claim that the voucher is a quick and applicable solution without files and trips to the city hall,” Chisăliță mentioned.

According to him, about 500,000 Romanians would be eligible to receive these vouchers, an aspect that would determine the need for a financial resource of 300 million lei, considering that heating is used for a maximum of 6 months a year in Romania.

“We believe that the future average price of gas in Romania, for the final consumer, will be at a level of 360 lei/MWh with VAT included (average of the offered price), we note an increase in VAT revenues as a result of the increase in gas prices by about 800 million lei/year. By subtracting the 300 million lei for vouchers, the state would benefit from 500 million lei to the state budget. In other words, the increase in gas prices would bring the possibility of offering vouchers and obtaining a significant gain to the state budget (to the 500 million lei is added another 2.8 billion lei from taxes, surcharges, excises, taxes, etc.). Respectively, the state will give vouchers from the money that consumers will pay additionally (a consumer living in a house will pay an additional 200 lei/month for gas and will receive a voucher of 100 lei/month!!!)”, added the specialist.

He argues that it is unfair to give everyone the same amount of money, regardless of income and consumption, given that for some consumers, expenses including subsidies amount to 71% of income, while for others, they amount to 11% of income.

At the same time, he stated that Romania does not lack laws, but functional laws.

“Any new scheme that overlaps an existing one means more confusion for citizens, more administrative costs and, ultimately, more room for inefficiency and waste. It is important to offer support to vulnerable consumers through vouchers and subsidies for paying for gas, but these measures must be built on fair and transparent criteria,” added Dumitru Chisăliță.

The analysis also shows that aid should not be granted “to everyone”, but according to income, wealth, consumption and consumption efficiency, so that it reaches exactly those who really need support. At the same time, any compensation scheme must avoid transferring costs to other consumers.

“It is not fair that the population or companies that pay their bills in full should bear, through higher tariffs, the expenses generated by a poorly thought-out aid. The correct solution is a clearly financed, responsible and sustainable system, which does not generate chain effects on the entire market”, specifies the research.

The proposal of the Smart Energy Association is that the voucher should not be financed by the consumer who receives it, but rather by private funds, but it should be transparently explained what this means and how it is implemented, so that the support does not turn into a hidden tax that, in the end, also ends up in consumers’ bills.

“Social assistance must be a form of real protection, not a populist measure or a secretly redistributed burden. In conclusion, the gas voucher can be presented as social support, but, in the form in which it is proposed today, it risks becoming just an image exercise. If the state truly wants to protect the population, the solution is not to invent yet another program, but to consolidate an existing one and to think of coherent policies, not momentary campaigns, simultaneously with vouchers from private funds. And people no longer need beautiful promises, but correct, efficient and sustainable measures”, notes the specialist.