BUCHAREST: Romania’s government on Thursday lowered the price levels in its energy support scheme for households, small businesses and industry that partially regulates its power and gas markets until March 2025.

The government introduced a centralised energy acquisition mechanism in late 2022, to ensure it has enough supply, making power and gas producers sell a part of their available output at regulated prices from January 2023.

Those prices, which are ceilings, were lowered on Thursday to 400 lei ($86.93) per megawatt hour for electricity, from 450 lei previously, and to 120 lei ($26.08) per megawatt hour for gas from 150 lei. “We have felt the need to optimise (the scheme), given that prices for electricity and natural gas have fallen,” Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said, adding latest available Eurostat data showed Romania had the fourth and fifth cheapest gas and electricity prices, respectively.

He also said the government would enforce a one-year transition period once the partial market regulation mechanism ends next year.

The European Union state has been capping gas and power bills for households, small businesses and public institutions and compensating suppliers for the difference since November 2022.