Romanian group Electrica,
the largest electricity distributor and supplier in the local market, plans to
charge consumers for the damages caused by the falling of hundreds of utility
poles because of last week’s harsh weather conditions, Hotnews.ro reported. The
company had RON 2.76 billion (EUR 600 million) worth of cash reserves at the
end of last year, after completingonly two-thirds of its investment
program.
Over 400 power
polesin the Braila, Buzau, Galati, Vrancea, Prahova, and Cluj counties
fell down because of the powerful wind last week, leaving some 130,000
consumers disconnected from the power grid.
Catalin Stancu, the general
director of Electrica, said that the damages need to be accepted by the local
energy authority ANRE and reflected in the final tariffs paid by consumers,
according to Hotnews.ro. He estimated the damages to amount to "several million
RON” and the impact on the tariffs to be insignificant. "According to the
methodology, the damages need to be recognized by ANRE,” Stancu said, quoted by
Agerpres.
The Energy Minister, Toma
Petcu, had previously said he would ask ANRE to not accept the damages suffered
by electricity companies last week as part of the tariffs charged to consumers.
Around 80% of Electrica’s
infrastructure has been built between 1960 and 1990 and is in need of
upgrading, according to company reports presented by Hotnews.ro. Only 20% of
its equipment meets current standards.
For 2016, Electrica had an
investment plan amounting to RON 844.6 million (EUR 187.6 million) but only
made investments worth RON 569.4 million (EUR 126.5 million), some 67% of the
planned amount.
Last year, the company
reported a consolidated net profit of RON 469 million (EUR 103 million) last
year.
Electrica’sdistribution
network covers over 40% of the country’s territory. The Romanian state has a
stake of 48.8% in the company. The remaining shares are held by investors on
the Bucharest Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange, including the EBRD.
(romania-insider.com
)