Romanian wholesale electricity prices triple since pandemic to 136 EUR/MWh
Wholesale electricity in Romania averaged 136 euros per MWh between 2021 and 2025, up from 45 euros in 2019-2020, according to a Romanian Economic Monitor analysis cited by libertatea.ro. Import dependence and a 5 billion euro energy deficit expose the economy, even as solar costs fall sharply.
Prices triple after the pandemic
Wholesale electricity in Romania averaged 136 euros per MWh between 2021 and 2025, up from just 45 euros per MWh in 2019-2020, according to an analysis by the Romanian Economic Monitor (RoEM) cited by libertatea.ro. The more than threefold increase reflects a chain of energy shocks and geopolitical instability that has reshaped costs for households and companies alike.
RoEM researcher Balazs Marko attributes the surge to several factors: a strong rebound in demand after the pandemic, the reduction of Russian gas exports following the war in Ukraine, and instability in the Middle East that intensified after 2023. Over the same interval, the average price of Brent crude rose from 53 to 80 dollars per barrel. The higher prices pushed consumption down for both households and firms.
Import dependence weighs on the budget
In 2025 Romania imported around 5 billion euros more energy than it exported, while across the European Union total energy imports exceeded exports by roughly 300 billion euros, equivalent to about 1-2% of GDP in both cases. Marko warns that dependence on external sources is a greater vulnerability than these figures suggest, because replacing lost foreign supply from domestic sources in the short term is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Price-capping measures added pressure on the state budget through compensations paid to suppliers, contributing to a wider budget deficit. Marko notes that energy dependence can be used as an instrument of geopolitical pressure, as happened when Russia halted gas exports to EU countries after the war in Ukraine began, squeezing governments, markets and consumers.
Renewables cheaper, but not independent
As fuel and power prices climbed, renewable technology costs fell sharply. The price of photovoltaic modules dropped 90% between 2010 and 2024, from 2.44 to 0.26 dollars per watt. In Romania, contracts-for-difference auctions in 2025 cleared at 35.77 to 45.2 euros per MWh for solar power, values competitive at European level and well below the wholesale average.
According to Eurostat, about 20% of Romania's primary energy came from renewables in 2024, up from around 4% in 1990. Nuclear also contributes: the Cernavoda plant, whose first unit was completed in 1996, provided 9% of primary energy in 2024. Romania is nearly self-sufficient in natural gas but remains a significant net oil importer.
The experts caution that the energy transition does not eliminate external dependence. Solar panel production and most of the raw materials it requires are concentrated in China, so a conflict or trade restrictions could disrupt supply chains. RoEM coordinator Levente Szasz stresses that the final impact on prices depends on market structure, the level of infrastructure investment and how costs are distributed between households, energy companies and the state.
