Hidroelectrica is experiencing the driest year in its history, and total production will fall to just over 11 TWh, announced Bogdan Badea, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Under these conditions, the company estimates a profit of approximately 3 billion lei – lower than in previous years, but considered a good performance in relation to the volume of energy delivered. “It is the driest year we have ever faced in our business (…), but relative to a production of 11 terawatts, I think it is a very good financial performance,” said Badea, quoted by Agerpres.
Although lake reserves are at a better level than in 2024 – 73% compared to 64% – the company faces a heightened hydrological risk. Management is carefully analyzing forecasts for the winter, maintaining a high level of caution. Hidroelectrica remains, Badea emphasized, “one of the main providers of stability and security for the energy system.”
In addition to the hydrological risk, the president of Hidroelectrica mentioned the impact of regulations on the energy market, expressing his satisfaction with the return to a competitive framework. “I am extremely pleased that today we have returned to the free market, because it is the only one capable of setting the right price,” he said, adding that this development has led to other suppliers’ tariffs approaching those charged by Hidroelectrica to the population.
In terms of investments, Badea welcomed the adoption of a law that will allow the completion of hydro projects that have been blocked for years. However, the Răstolița project remains suspended in court, a situation that could only be resolved in December. If the procedures are clarified, the filling of the lake could begin during the flood season in early 2026.
In the medium term, Hidroelectrica is accelerating its hybridization strategy and developing storage projects to increase system flexibility. “We have a storage project at Porțile de Fier 2 up for tender, a large project that will attempt to shift the energy produced during the day to the evening,” explained Badea. At the same time, the company is running floating photovoltaic projects and expanding the wind farm at Crucea.
The official believes that new renewable capacities will contribute to lower prices in the long term, but the success of the energy transition depends on the coherent management of investments and the exploitation of synergies between technologies, not on competition between them.