Energy bills in Romania expected to rise 4.7 percent in 2012

Romania’s centrist coalition government approved late last month a support scheme for renewable energy producers ...

November 2011 - From the Print Edition

... that will lead to a 4.7 percent rise in electricity tariffs for household consumers next year, according to a statement by AREE, the Romanian Association for Wind Energy. This year’s increase in energy bills is estimated at 1.12 percent.
Under the agreed support scheme, green certificates are granted for electrical power produced from renewable sources and delivered to consumers. Wind power developers gain once by selling the certificates, worth between EUR 27 and 55 each, to power providers, and again when they sell the electricity produced. The support scheme, which is based on green certificates and has been key to attracting billions of euros to fund wind energy, was revised after the European Commission expressed concern it may overcompensate developers.
According to AREE, the support scheme will impact inflation, generating a 0.05 percent growth. So far, Romania has 462 MW of power generated by its installed wind power units and the capacity is estimated to reach 1,000 MW by year end, with double the volume expected for next year. By 2020, the total volume should reach some 4,000 MW. The 90 companies that are part of AREE have so far invested EUR 1 billion on the Romanian energy market and hired 2,000 workers.
According to official data, Romania’s wind power potential is 14,000 installed MW. By 2031, power consumers will pay around EUR 10.5 billion for the green certificates support scheme which will also add up to EUR 33 per MW to prices by 2017.