The government approved on Friday the Emergency Ordinance capping electricity and gas prices for one year, for both household and industrial consumers, Energy Minister Virgil Popescu wrote on Facebook."One more year of government support for the Romanians' energy bills! The new measures coming in force on April 1 benefit 8 million households for electricity, and all households connected to the grid for natural gas, regardless of consumption. Together with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and my government colleagues we approved the Emergency Ordinance on the measures applicable to end electricity and gas customers between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023," Popescu said.Final electricity bills for vulnerable households or for those affected by energy poverty will be capped on two tiers, based on their average monthly consumption in 2021 and the final gas prices.For electricity, the price will be a maximum of 0.68 RON/kWh, VAT included, for households whose average monthly consumption in 2021 is less than or equal to 100 KWh; and a maximum 0.8 RON/kWh, VAT included, for households whose average monthly consumption in 2021 is between 100 kWh and 300 KWh inclusive.For gas, the price will be capped at a maximum of 0.31 RON/kWh, VAT included.For non-household consumers, the price for electricity will be 1 RON/kWh at the most, VAT included, and for gas it will be a maximum of 0.37 RON/ kWh, VAT included, for an annual gas consumption in 2021 of 50,000 MWh at the most; the same applies for producers of heating energy intended for other consumers.Heat and power plants will buy natural gas for a regulated price of 250 RON/MWh, Minister Popescu specified.The draft regulatory act posted on Thursday evening on the website of the Energy Ministry also provided for a price of 150 RON per MWh for domestically produced gas. The Minister does not specify whether this proposal has been approved or not.
Romania was formally designated the 43rd country to join the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) on Friday, January 10. According to the Romanian ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru, Romanian citizens will be able to travel to the US without the need for a visa starting March 31, 2025. "Romania becomes the first country in the […]
Cluj-Napoca, the city in Romania with some of the highest rents and a fast-growing IT industry, is closer to banning smoking in playgrounds and parks after mayor Emil Boc expressed his support for the measure. The mayor cited the prioritization of public health as the reason behind such a ban. He mentioned that he has […]
Romania's Sibiu County Emergency Clinical Hospital will receive a robotic system to prepare cytostatic drugs needed by cancer patients, along with other equipment, after the County Council obtained funds from the European Regional Development Fund. With an estimated value of EUR 1 million, the "Robotic Composition System for Sterile Preparations of Cytostatic Drugs" is among […]
Romania’s government adopted in its January 10 meeting a decision granting an extra day off to public sector employees at the beginning of May. Thus, Friday, May 2, will be an official day off for public sector workers, linking the legal holiday of May 1 (Labor Day) with the weekend (May 3-4). This...
The Ministry of Environment announced that 2024 was the hottest year in the history of Romania's meteorological records. Red alerts for heat waves began in June of 2024, with the longest consecutive periods of persistent and intense heat waves, six consecutive days, between July 13-18 and August 15-20. "The year 2024 is the hottest year...
Supporters of former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu gathered outside the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, which houses the Constitutional Court, on January 10, demanding a rerun of the second round of the presidential elections. The protest, dubbed "The Great Judicial Union," was initiated by Georgescu, who called on his supporters to challenge the election annulment, as […]
