The recent changes in the electricity bill – introduced by Emergency Ordinance no. 35/2025 – come with a new set of technical and administrative obligations for suppliers to allow the operation of a support mechanism for vulnerable consumers. Specifically, suppliers are preparing new invoice models that will include a special barcode. In parallel, the Association of Electricity Suppliers in Romania (AFEER) draws attention to the 6 billion lei in unrecovered costs of the past and calls for responsible and better-informed public conversation.
Starting with July 2025, household electricity consumers will receive modified bills, adapted to reflect the new support system approved by Emergency Ordinance no. 35/2025. This concerns the implementation of an energy voucher worth 50 lei per month, which will be granted until March 2026 to single people with incomes below 1,940 lei/month and to families with a monthly net income per member below 1,784 lei. The support is strictly aimed at those who fall within the definition of vulnerable consumers and who are on the official lists sent by the authorities.
For the mechanism to work, suppliers are required to develop and implement new invoice models that include a special barcode. This will appear on the last page of all invoices issued to household consumers, but will only be functional for eligible consumers, allowing partial payment through the post office network, using the electronic energy voucher.
In a press release, AFEER draws attention to the fact that it is for the “twentieth time” in recent years that suppliers have been forced to modify their billing infrastructure, with significant efforts and costs, fully borne by the companies. “These changes involve significant costs, costs that no one is paying for. Also, the amounts of money that suppliers borrowed from banks to support these schemes on behalf of the state have not been recovered,” warns Laurențiu Urluescu, president of AFEER.
Billions to be recovered from the state
The issue of arrears from the capping-compensation schemes period remains unresolved: over 6 billion lei are still to be recovered from the state, given that the last settlements validated by ANRE target January 2024. In this context, the suppliers’ dissatisfaction is justified not only by the financial aspects, but also by the damaged public image, despite the essential role played in maintaining the stability of the energy sector in recent years.
“We, the suppliers – and, in general, the entire energy sector – have been with the authorities whenever needed. Unfortunately, we are once again in a complicated and sensitive situation, and the accusations are directed, as usual, at the suppliers. If there is a specific case in which one of the suppliers is wrong, it is normal for them to be held accountable. But it is not right to incriminate the entire guild”, emphasizes Urluescu.
The market is now free, competition is re-launched
AFEER reaffirms its support for a competitive, transparent and predictable market, in which consumers are well informed and suppliers can operate under fair conditions. The elimination of capping schemes has brought back the first signs of relaunching competition in the market, with the emergence of improved commercial offers. “We are pleased that, very shortly after the elimination of the capping / compensation scheme, the first signs of relaunching competition have begun to appear – suppliers are improving their offers for consumers”, says Laurențiu Urluescu.
Formally, the electricity market was liberalized in two stages, from January 1, 2014, non-household consumers, and from January 1, 2018, household customers. In the cited press release, AFEER states that “on January 1, 2021, the liberalization of the market was reconfirmed and consolidated, marking a new stage of operation under conditions of real competition”. From October 4, 2021 until July 1, 2025, based on Emergency Ordinance no. 118/2021, the capping and compensation schemes for electricity and natural gas bills were introduced and operated. The suppliers insist that “the price of electricity supplied to consumers was and remains set by the market, both before and after the elimination of subsidies. In practice, this means that starting in 2018 the price for most consumers in Romania was set by the real dynamics in the domestic market, as well as by developments in the European markets to which Romania is interconnected.”
According to AFEER, the economic and geopolitical crises of recent years have led to a sharp volatility in electricity prices. On the Centralized Market for Bilateral Contracts – LE-FLEX, the average price of the band product (constant hourly delivery) was 755 lei/MWh in 2023, decreased to approximately 507 lei/MWh in 2024, and in June 2025 rose again to approximately 620 lei/MWh, representing an increase of over 20% compared to the average of the previous year. In addition, recent contracts for the second semester of 2025 and for 2026 indicate prices exceeding 600 lei/MWh.
These developments on the wholesale market are directly reflected in the bills of final consumers, explains AFEER. They bear not only the cost of active energy, but also a series of regulated and fiscal components: transmission and distribution tariffs, system service tariff, green certificates, cogeneration contribution, CfD contribution, excise duties, VAT, as well as costs associated with consumption profiling and system imbalances.