The National Consumer Protection Authority said it had penalized more than two dozen electricity and national gas companies for a number of irregularities.
Energy bills
The checks came as millions of Romanians complained about soaring energy bills.
The fines were given to companies which failed to apply price caps, give compensation or didn’t respond to consumer requests within the legal time framework.
”The energy department of the consumer protection agency carried out checks from 6-13 January. They looked at 72 companies nationwide and there were violations at 27 of them.”
As well as the fines_ worth about 91,500 euros _ four written recommendations to companies to stop incorrect commercial practices with customers.
Violations
They were told to recalculate the bills which didn’t comply with legal requirements.
Officials will continue to check energy companies for violations until March 31 when the period for subsidies ends.
President Klaus Iohannis endorsed a bill in October introducing a cap on gas and energy prices and energy subsidies for households until April 1.
Prices were capped at 1 leu per kWh of electricity and at 0.37 lei per kWh of natural gas, according to the bill.
Subsidies
Households which consume up to 350 kWh of electricity or up to 200 cubic meters of gas per month are be entitled to subsidies, according to the new legislation.
They will receive 0.291 lei per kWh of electricity consumed. The state will also cover up to 33% of the total value of the households’ gas bills.
Some 6 million households are eligible for subsidies on their electricity and gas bills, according to the bill.
Hidroelectrica
In September, Energy Minister Virgil Popescu said the subsidies would be financed by dividend payouts received from majority-owned hydropower producer Hidroelectrica and taxes on corporate revenues which grew after the power market was fully liberalized in the beginning of the year.
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