The electricity sold on Romania’s spot market reached record values of RON 600 (EUR 133.3) per MWh, in the last three days (January 24-26). The price has doubled since the beginning of the year.

The spot energy market allows producers that have a surplus of electricity to instantly locate interested buyers for this energy. Small quantities of electricity are usually traded on this market as the bulk of electricity produced in Romania is traded on the bilateral contracts market, under longer term contracts, where the prices have been relatively stable in recent months, at around RON 160 (EUR 36) per MWh.

However, the electricity distributors and traders often come to this market when they need to cover for unexpected spikes in consumption and extra demand from clients.

The high price of electricity on the bourse will also be reflected in the consumer bill, according to economy minister Alexandru Petrescu, quoted by local Agepres. The Economy Ministry controls electricity transporter Transelectrica and gas transporter Transgaz.

Romania, which is an electricity exporter, has been confronted with a crisis situation at the beginning of this year, as the cold weather determined a record domestic consumption while the production was affected by the low flow of the Danube, which reduced the production of Romania’s biggest hydro power plants, Portile de Fier I and Portile de Fier II.

Energy minister Toma Petcu stated recently that the previous Government did a poor job last year in preparing the necessary energy resources for winter and that this has brought Romania to the verge of a crisis in the energy sector at the beginning of this year.

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editor@romania-insider.com