It is baffling why, in the context of higher-than-expected collection at the state budget, the Government does not allocate the necessary amounts to cover the costs of capping gas and electricity prices, claims Radu Burnete, Concordia’s executive director.
“These receipts come largely from taxes and profits of energy producing companies (mostly state-owned) or from VAT collected above expectations as a result of high energy prices.
”This money must be returned to consumers, so that they can cope with the price increases. This is also the mechanism provided by the Government for capping prices. Consumers pay a lower price and the difference is reimbursed by the state to energy suppliers. It’s just that the state doesn’t set aside money for this reimbursement and puts itself in the situation of not being able to honor its debts,” says Radu Burnete.
“This is unfair and dangerous for our energy system. It is unfair because the providers are financing a public measure with their money and it is normal to be reimbursed on time. It is dangerous because suppliers need this money to buy energy for the winter (and the state is already months behind in repayments), to invest in networks or to increase energy efficiency. We are talking about tens of billions of lei, without which they will operate almost in emergency mode, and the Ministry of Finance allocates an amount several times smaller than the necessary estimated by the Ministry of Energy itself. This decision is a mystery to me,” he says.
Concordia brings together 14 essential industries for the Romanian economy and companies with over 330,000 employees, which have a total contribution of 26% of the GDP.
