The energy market should be subjected to stress tests to see how it works in certain situations so that consumers are protected from price increases, said the ANRE President Dumitru Chiriţă, during the hearings of the parliamentary commission regarding the ANRE activity.

“We are in 2017. Changes have been made over time, but I think it is necessary to revise, update this trading code and create a new market model so that these events that took place in the last year (price increases – e.n.), but not only, will not be repeated”, said Chiriţă.

He pointed out that the market should be tested to see the reactions in different situations, so that consumers are protected from the escalation of prices. “I would allow myself to create within the primary legislation and to develop in the secondary legislation the need for stress tests, same model that BNR uses with the commercial banks, and these stress tests to be induced in the market to see how the market is reacting, so that the consumer is protected from market abuse, by traders who take advantage of certain things on the market and get undeserved advantages”, continued Chiriţă.

According to this, the suppliers of the last resort, i.e. the suppliers of the household consumers, did not take up the cheapest energy in the market, waiting for ANRE to recognize the costs in the final tariffs.

The suppliers of last resort have not been interested in purchasing long-term energy for consumers who do not understand the eligibility right. They have waited, so to speak, for the changes in the ANRE regulations, after which they come with the invoices to the ANRE network, and ANRE will finally include the price to the consumer who is in the universal service area and who would benefit from an increased tariff. The fact that ANRE changed the regulation (modifying the regulation for the universal service market) and put it in a big tangle, saying that it must go on the market, to buy energy on the competitive market, at the lowest prices that will be recognized by ANRE”, said Chiriţă, quoted by Agerpres.

Dumitru Chiriţă took over as ANRE president on October 23rd 2017, replacing Niculae Havrileţ.