Romania needs to expand its electricity interconnection capacity for better exploitation of power generation units, relays the message from European Commission which notes the existence of a surplus production on the domestic market, while exports reduced capacity.
Maintain current capacity electricity production requires improvement of export, it said in a progress report from the Commission on EU states to establish an integrated energy market.
The Romanian authorities must ensure transposition of “correct and complete” EU directives included in Package 3 Energy, to complete the liberalization of gas and electricity prices and improve competition in the retail environment.
Commission notes that the liberalization of electricity prices for industrial consumers was completed in December 2013, while for households process will be completed by December 2017. Number of consumers which have changed electricity supplier to start the process grew steadily, exceeding 19,000 at the end of last year. However, the transfer rate in retail is very low, only 0.03% at the end of 2012, “the report said.
Only 62 vendors are active in the retail market of electricity, while the degree of open market recorded a modest increase from 55% in 2012 to 57% last year.
Due to the very low or negative margins permits regulated prices, suppliers are discouraged from making offers outside of provision, which limits the choice of the consumer. To provide a general service electricity supply, five companies are required to buy increasing amounts of energy on competitive market and the costs are passed on to final consumers, the report says.
Romanian consumer satisfaction level on retail markets for electricity and natural gas lies slightly above the European average, says the Commission. Both markets have deficiencies in the number of consumers who switched suppliers to ease this process and overall satisfaction.
Romania also ranks third EU the number of complaints about gas supply.