The second edition of the Energy Security Barometer, launched on Wednesday, reveals that 21.5% of consumers consider themselves vulnerable, in terms of difficulties in paying energy bills.

At the time of the survey, less than half of Romanians (48.8%) said they had heard that the natural gas market would be liberalized starting July 1, 2020, while 50.2% had not heard about it. Only 21.5% of Romanians consider that they have sufficient information on what it means and what are the effects of gas market liberalization, while 77.6% consider that they do not have enough information.

At the same time, 39.7% of the respondents state that they have heard that the electricity market will be liberalized starting with January 1, 2021, and 59.5% that they do not know the subject. About 22.5% of the total survey participants consider that they have sufficient information about what the liberalization of the electricity market means and what are the effects, while 76.8% consider that they do not have enough information.

At the same time, 91.8% of Romanians agree that the state should financially support the expansion of the natural gas network, so that more homes have access to this natural resource.

About 21.5% of Romanians consider that they are vulnerable energy consumers because they have difficulties in paying their electricity, heat or gas bills.

At the same time, over three quarters of Romanians (78.9%) agree with the exploitation of natural gas reserves on the Romanian Black Sea coast (slightly up from 75.6% in September 2019), while 16.7% disagree.

“Romanians strongly support the expansion of the natural gas network with public funds and consider important and very important, in a proportion of over 90%, that the gas resources of the Black Sea be used to expand the gas supply to the population, in parallel with reducing imports. In this sense, the participants in the survey support in a very large majority the encouragement by the state of large private investments in the energy sector and the unblocking of gas exploitations in the Black Sea,” said Remus Ștefureac, director of INSCOP Research.

Autor: Bogdan Tudorache

Active in the economic and business press for the past 26 years, Bogdan graduated Law and then attended intensive courses in Economics and Business English. He went up to the position of editor-in-chief since 2006 and has provided management and editorial policy for numerous economic publications dedicated especially to the community of foreign investors in Romania. From 2003 to 2013 he was active mainly in the financial-banking sector. He started freelancing for Energynomics in 2013, notable for his advanced knowledge of markets, business communities and a mature editorial style, both in Romanian and English.