The market is the first to react in the event of an energy crisis and governments take measures after the market intervenes, but once an energy crisis starts, it ends somewhere in 3-5 years, as history shows us, declared the president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), George Niculescu.

“As you put pressure on ANRE to reduce costs in the economy, you are practically transforming us into the main institution that has the role of saving the economy by reducing costs. As much as we would like this role of hero, unfortunately we do not have all the necessary responsibilities to fulfill it. I will start at the beginning and tell you that, as happened in the crisis triggered by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the same is happening as a result of this crisis with the cessation of the war in the Iran area. The market is the first to react. Governments and states take measures after the market and the volatility of prices in the market intervene. We see, and experience shows us, that these effects are lasting. If we think about the fact that the first price increases in electricity and natural gas came before the invasion began in February 2022 and that we exited the capping-compensation scheme for electricity on July 1, 2025, and for natural gas it has just been extended in a slightly different form until “On March 31, 2027, we can see together that, once an energy crisis begins, it ends somewhere after 3-5 years. This is roughly the time estimate that history shows us for natural gas, especially if the scheme is extended by another year,” Niculescu said, according to Agerpres.

He stressed that the authorities must remain attentive to what is happening on the crude oil and natural gas markets.

“So, for the market to react and to get back on the competitive path, obviously any kind of external influence on the market must calm down, states, governments must stop intervening through specific interventions and then it becomes a truly free market again. In the meantime, we intervene when we need to intervene. We must continue to keep our eyes on the ball, very focused on what is happening, both in the petroleum products market and in the natural gas market, on what changes mean. I would not like to see market interventions again, as we saw in the period 2021-2022, but when things require such measures, I am convinced that all authorities, including ANRE, will not hesitate to impose these corrective measures in such a way that ultimately consumers, both household and non-household, are protected from these large price fluctuations”, pointed out the head of ANRE.