▷ Electricity calculator. Find out how your bill is calculated.

Have you ever thought about how the electricity company figures out the final amount shown on your bill? Does it use some kind of electricity calculator, and if it doesn’t, can you get one? Generally, it is beneficial to have a trustworthy relationship with the electricity company (this is why we suggest picking one carefully). However, to ensure everything goes smoothly, it can be helpful to learn how to calculate usage and predict your future bill. So in this article, we will discover how to do this.

Let’s begin with the basics: what do you actually pay on your bill?

To do a full calculation of electricity usage, we must first know what parts make up the bill. It is often believed that this only concerns personal electricity usage. But it is a bit more complex than that.

The electricity bill consists of several elements including active electricity and related taxes.

Active electrical energy refers, of course, to your current usage. It is the main amount we pay when we receive the bill. We will also discuss the new agreement on this usage when we switch suppliers.

For example, you will receive offers from potential suppliers telling you that they will charge you X RON per kWh. Here you will be tempted to quickly look up the approximate MWh consumption for your home type and do a mental calculation of your electricity consumption. And then, when the bill arrives at the end of the month, you will discover that your home bill is not the same as the market one, as the saying goes.

Why? Because in the market, or in our case, on the invoice, other taxes are added, such as the grid extraction tariff, the green certificate and the cogeneration contribution. Furthermore, prices vary slightly depending on the geographical area in which you are located. In Romania there are several electricity distributors and each one covers a specific geographical area:

Banat electronic distribution: Caras-Severin, Timis, Hunedoara, Arad e-Distribution Muntenia: Ilfov, Bucharest, Giurgiu
e-Distribuzione Dobrogea: Calarasi, Ialomita, Tulcea, Costanza
Delgaz grill: Botosani, Suceava, Neamt, Vaslui, Iasi, Bacau
SDEE Southern Transylvania: Mures, Alba, Sibiu, Brasov, Covasna, Harghita
SDEE Northern Transylvania: Cluj, Bistrita-Nasaud, Maramures, Salaj, Bihor
SDEE Muntenia North: Vrancea, Galati, Braila, Prahova, Dambovita, Buzau
Energy Distribution Oltenia: Dolj, Arges, Olt, Teleorman, Mehedinti, Gorj

The network extraction rate, simply called the network tariff, it is different depending on the area of the country you are in. For example, in 2021, the network tariff in the Southern Muntenia area (where Bucharest is also included) is 0.188 lei/kWh, but it differs depending on the area you are in, as we said:

Banat (Timis, Hunedoara)	0.192 lei/kWh
Dobrogea (Constanta, Tulcea)	0.229 lei/kWh
Moldova (Suceava, Iasi, Botosani)	0.223 lei/kWh
Northern Muntenia (Galati, Buzau, Prahova)	0.215 lei/kWh
Muntenia South (Bucharest, Giurgiu)	0.188 lei/kWh
Oltenia (Teleorman, Valcea, Gorj)	0.237 lei/kWh
Northern Transylvania (Satu Mare, Cluj, Bistrita Nasaud)	0.205 lei/kWh
Southern Transylvania (Alba, Brasov, Sibiu)	0.210 lei/kWh

The contribution of cogeneration it is a sort of tax paid to the electricity producer, which in turn is periodically modified by the ANRE.

Excise duty it is a small tax imposed by the State on all domestic consumers, equal to 0.5 bani/kWh.

Green certificates are, once again, imposed by the State, in order to support renewable energy. They have the same value everywhere in Romania.

In some cases, you can pay for one more daily pass to the supplier, expressed in lei per day.

Last but not least, this will also apply to the electricity subscription VAT at 19%.according to the legislation in force in the Romanian state.

The final cost will also be determined by whether you use a three-phase or single-phase system. However, in this article we will not go into complicated details, such as calculating three-phase electricity consumption. Don’t worry: we write so that everyone understands!

What does the liberalization of the electricity market have to do with it?

At the beginning of 2021, the process of liberalization of the electricity market in Romania was concluded. This has brought you, the consumer, more freedom and rights, especially the right to negotiate with any free market supplier a price that is advantageous for you.

As expected, the market liberalization process had a significant impact on the price of energy, as its supply moved from a single supplier to several independent suppliers on the market.

The liberalization, although having affected the price of active electricity, had no impact on the other taxes listed above.

Electricity calculation formula: how to calculate the bill?

You don’t need an electricity calculator to find out how much your next bill would cost. Usually the supplier will make you an offer of lei per kWh, referring strictly to active energy. For example, at Restart Energy, you we offer the lowest price for electricity of only 0.25 lei/kWh. Again, this only refers to the active energy you will consume.

Let’s say you live in Bucharest, right? The formula for electricity consumed is as follows:

0.25 (Restart Energy active energy price) + 0.188 (network tax) + 0.017 (cogeneration) + 0.062 (green certificate) + 0.005 (excise duty) = 0.522 lei/kWh (VAT excluded)

To know the value with VAT you need to multiply the amount indicated above by 1.19, therefore:

0.522 x 1.19 = 0.621 lei/kWh

From this estimate of electricity consumption, all taxes remain the same for other areas of Romania, minus the network tax. If your contract also includes a daily subscription, then you still have to do a calculation. Let’s say this is 0.2 lei per day. Then:

0.2 x 30 (days) x 1.19 (VAT) = 7.14 lei/month

How to find out how many kWh you consume per month – Electricity calculator

It is generally established based on the size of the house. That’s why we created a restart the energy calculator. Here you choose the area where you live, the type of subscription you want and the type of house and we generate an offer for you.

For example, for a 2-room apartment (55 m2) in Bucharest with an average consumption of 175 kWh per month, we will make the following calculation:

175 x 0.621 = 108,675 lei/moon

When using the Restart Energy calculator, a 2-room apartment (55 m2) in Bucharest with a consumption of 175 kWh per month will cost you… 109 lei per month! Exactly as the formula above tells us.

ANRE – Tariff comparator

But it’s not good to take our word for it. We always advise our customers to inform themselves. That’s why we recommend using it the ANRE tariff comparator to find the best offer for you. Now that you know how to use an electricity calculator and calculate your bill, we hope your decision is an informed one!