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Eugenia Gusilov | Director

5Aug 2026

Euronews

Too high diesel prices are due to several factors: 1. Fiscal policy of the Romanian state, which hates high taxes. Instead of the reform starting with the closing of the harmful state companies, which should have been sent to the graveyard a long time ago, the "reform" started with the fiscal burden. I mean, fiscal consolidation is on our money. ... 2. Petrotel-Lukoil - the third largest refinery in Romania has been closed since November 2025 and the American sanctions are not to blame. 3. July's syncopation with the supply of crude oil coming from Kazakhstan, an episode that created some unrest in the market. 4. stocks that cover (in theory) 90 days of import, and in practice only 45 days. This is because of the stocks of 2 million tons, half is not on the territory of Romania... Other ideas expressed: - the sin from which almost the entire governmental area suffers is INERTIA. At 10,000 euros/month (as much as ANRE salaries are, for example), you have to move like a puppeteer. - Romania can no longer afford this economic model, with armies of mistresses and hundreds of rubedenians employed by the state. This will never deliver the performance, we will just take it from crisis to crisis. My participation in the show "Economia.eu" on Euronews Romania, on August 5.

4Aug 2026

Antena 3

Discussion on Tuesday, August 4, with Catalina Buzoianu from Antena 3 Constanta in the show "Constanta vorbeste". In the conversation we touched on all the topics of interest: - from Cernavoda and today's crisis... - to the hydropower plants that had to be completed (and how we position ourselves in relation to the environment without sacrificing energy security) - to the coal-fired thermal power plants (which were closed, as this means the energy transition) - and the gas plants that were built (the Jordanian investment from Mindia) and those that were not built (the 2 of the Energy Complex Oltenia for which we also had European money) - electricity exports to the Republic of Moldova - electricity imports from Bulgaria and Ukraine.

4Aug 2026

Antena 3

Discussion from Tuesday, August 4, on Antena 3 about the restrictions to be adopted (and they were adopted today, August 7) for the large industrial consumers of electricity, about the price difference in Romania vs. Bulgaria (in the morning we pay the same price, in the evening instead we pay 3 times more expensive MWh) and about how our strategy to bet on Hidroelectrica proved worse (in the context of accelerated climate change) than the Bulgarian strategy to invest in batteries.

4Aug 2026

Dialogue with B1.ro, from August 4, the day when the "dynamic excise" law was promulgated (Law 162/2026). At this moment, the measure is too weak to stop the advance of prices at the pump, that is, it will not be able to keep the price below 10 lei/liter for diesel, as it was initially wanted, in July. Moreover, the "dynamic excise" will begin to produce effects only from August 16, although the law enters into force today, August 7.

4Aug 2026

Euronews

On Tuesday, August 4, at Euronews Romania, we talked about: - the crisis as an opportunity: this crisis is a good opportunity to do something that had to be done anyway (the redirection of water to Cernavoda) because the works are also necessary for reactors 3&4 - the PSD initiative with the decarbonization law: withdrawn groups are withdrawn. And this is how Romania's credibility is undermined - we say one thing and do another, and in the area of decarbonization (that is, the removal of coal) more than in any other field. Anyway, Romania "pulled" the coal-fired groups in the period 2022-2025 when a part were transferred to the technical reserve of Transelectrica, at the disposal of the dispatcher. - Diesel fuel: let's not expect who knows what reduction as a result of the "dynamic excise" mechanism. By applying a 10% discount (that's the discount the government wants to grant in the first instance), the discount is modest, only 34 money. At a diesel price of 10.9 lei/liter.....it doesn't even keep the price under 10 lei/liter.

4Aug 2026

Digi24

Tuesday, August 4, at Digi24, pending the presidential promulgation of the ordinance that re-establishes the state of emergency in the fuel market. The maximum reduction possible through "dynamic excise" is 25%. The discount is applied to the excise duty, which is 2.8 lei/liter of diesel, so 2.8 lei * 0.25 = 0.7 lei (or 70 money) To which we also add the 21% VAT, so 0.7 lei*0.21 = 0.15 lei ... The maximum possible reduction: 70 money + 15 money = 85 money But the government said last week that, for the beginning, it will apply a 10% reduction in excise duty, so: 28 bani + related VAT (6 bani) = total discount: 34 bani / liter of diesel. After our discussion, the president also promulgated the ordinance.

3Aug 2026

TVR Info

Monday, August 3, on TVR News, about social solidarity in times of crisis, differentiated hourly rates, and the crises that catch us (again) with unrealized investments and postponed works.

2Aug 2026

Digi24

My intervention on Sunday, August 2, at Digi24, about the stress test (in real time) that Romania and our energy system will go through in the next 10 days. The solutions are disastrous and show only one thing: the fact that those responsible for energy in Romania have not done their homework at all in the last 15 years!

2Aug 2026

On B1.ro, on August 2, about the ongoing energy crisis, in which the drought affects the production of electricity from hydro and nuclear. However, what brought us to this point is the inability of the Romanian state to plan, design and execute new industrial projects ON TIME. Energy security must be thought of in layers, on several levels: if you have to stop a nuclear power plant, which capacities take over your production? ... When the coal capacities were withdrawn, the plan was that they would be replaced with NEW gas plants. Only, they were not completed! Inventory: - Iernut (Romgaz), 430 MW: it was supposed to be put into operation in 2020. It is not ready even today. - Mindia (Jordanian investment), 1,700 MW: completion in 2026. That project that was declared a few years ago "a project of strategic importance". It is not activated. - Islanita (850 MW) and Turceni (475 MW): 2 gas projects of the Oltenia Energy Complex for which it received 900 million euros (European money from the Modernization Fund) for Romania to "put something in place of the coal groups" that were withdrawn. The new gas plants at Isalnita and Turceni were supposed to be ready in 2025! Total (new) gas capacity that was supposed to be available at this moment: 430 MW (Iernut) + 1,700 MW (Mintia Mass) + 850 MW (Isalnita) + 475 MW (Turceni) = 3,455 MW With 3,455 MW new connected to the energy system, the temporary shutdown of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant (1,400 MW) would not have been a problem.

31Jul 2026

Digi24

On Friday, July 31, Digi24, I spoke with Valentin Chisoceanu about our other pain: the price of diesel. At this moment, what is happening at the pump in Romania has nothing to do with the international Brent quotation, but rather has regional and local reasons behind it. Regional: ... - no more diesel is exported from Russia since July 8. Even if these quantities did not come directly to the European market, the regional market was still supplied. The disappearance of Russian diesel from the global market increases the price. Moreover, Russia is competing with us (importing countries, including Romania) to buy diesel for their domestic market! Local: - fuel import-export structure. Romania is a country that imported 2 million tons of diesel fuel last year alone. - the 3rd largest refinery in Romania (Petrotel-Lukoil) has been closed since November 2025, so it does not refine crude oil, therefore it does not produce gasoline, diesel, kerosene - quantities that used to supply the domestic market and which now have to be imported. - the government's fiscal policy, which invokes European legislation not to reduce diesel taxes. However, Poland (EU member state) reduced the VAT on diesel from 23% to 8% this year, between April 1 and June 30, 2026.

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