POSITION PAPER on Natural Gas Prices

Higher tariffs, record profits, and limited transparency. What questions does the new request to increase gas prices raise?

Energocom’s request to increase the natural gas tariff from 14.42 to 20.93 lei per cubic metre, representing an increase of more than 45%, must be examined with the utmost responsibility and transparency.

The Civic Movement “Construim Încredere” does not rule out the possibility that changes in procurement prices may require tariff adjustments. However, such a significant increase cannot be justified merely by presenting a final figure. Citizens have the right to know in detail how the price they pay is calculated.

Given that Energocom recorded a net profit of approximately 793 million lei last year, a legitimate question arises: were all options for absorbing part of the new costs considered before the entire burden was transferred to households and businesses?

At the same time, the most important components of the tariff — procurement costs and distribution — are not presented in sufficient detail to allow for independent verification. It remains unclear how much is represented by the actual price of gas, international transportation, storage, administrative expenses, investments, depreciation, or operators’ profit margins.

We call on Energocom and ANRE to publish the full cost structure, the calculation methodology, and all data necessary for experts, the media, and civil society to verify whether the new tariffs are justified.

Citizens should not merely be informed of how much they will have to pay. They have the right to know why they are paying that amount and how every leu on their bill was calculated.

In a strategic sector such as energy, transparency is not optional. It is a fundamental condition for tariff decisions that are credible, justified, and accepted by society.