According to AFEER, gas prices for the population could increase by at least 5% from April 2026, when the price cap expires.

Laurențiu Urluescu, the president of the Association of Energy Suppliers in Romania (AFEER), announced that gas prices for household consumers will be liberalized starting April 1, 2026, which will lead to an estimated increase of at least 5%. Currently, the purchase price is 120 lei/MWh, but it is expected to reach 170 lei/MWh. Thus, an average bill of 400 lei could increase to 420 lei. The price capping scheme, introduced in the context of the pandemic, will expire on March 31, 2026. Urluescu emphasized that the state has collected 80 billion lei from the energy sector, but owes suppliers approximately 7 billion lei, representing the difference between capped prices and actual prices. Additionally, the state has promised to pay these debts, but there is no deadline for reimbursement. The liberalization of the energy market has been a gradual process, starting in 2014 for non-household consumers and continuing with household clients in 2018.