The
Romanian government said on Wednesday it has given the green light to the
finance ministry to lend up to 40 million lei ($10.1million/9 million
euro)tostate-owned electricity and heat producerComplexul Energetic Hunedoara
for a period of 90 days.
CE Hunedoara, which is the legal and economic
successor of Termoelectrica and Electrocentrale Deva,will use the proceeds of
the loan to pay backincompatible state aid granted in the past to the two
companies, the govenment's press office said in a statement.
The European
Commission said in Aprilthat temporary rescue aid of 167 million lei to be
granted by the Romanian authorities to CE Hunedoara is in line with EU state aid
rules, but could be extended only after the energy complex pays back the
incompatible state aid received in the past byTermoelectrica and
Electrocentrale Deva, which amounts to 26.27 million lei excluding
interest.
The Commission found that the planned stateaid was limited to
the amount necessary to allow CE Hunedoara to continue operating its power
plants in the next six months. At the end of this period, the company will
either pay back the aid or Romania will notify a restructuring plan, setting out
measures to ensure the company's long-term viability.
Thermal power
producer CE Hunedoara, with an installed capacity of 1,225 MW,had total debts
worth 942.2 million lei at the end of March, the government added