Electrica SA is entering a new strategic phase in which speed outweighs resilience as the defining priority, stated Alexandru Chiriță, the company’s CEO highlighted at the “International Approach London” conference, organized by Energynomics in London.
“We learned that resilience was the word to use in 2022, 2023 and 2024. And then we switched to 2025 and now 2026 to a new word which is speed. Now we think speed is more important than anything else,” he said.
According to Chiriță, Electrica has already built sufficient resilience to withstand market volatility and structural shifts in the energy sector. The current challenge is acting quickly enough to capitalize on investment opportunities, particularly as investor appetite remains strong. The company plans to repeat its green bond issuance after what he described as a successful round last year.
On renewables, Electrica has already surpassed its 2030 and 2035 targets, reaching 1 GW of renewable capacity and 1 GWh of battery storage, but this performance requires an update of the company’s long-term strategy. In grid infrastructure, planned investments of around 1.5 billion euros over the next decade may prove insufficient, with actual needs potentially two or three times higher to meet decarbonization and modernization objectives. The 500 million euros raised last year by the company covers only half of the green energy investment target. The remaining funding will need to be secured through additional financing rounds and business expansion.
“We’re going to repeat the green bond issuance. […] This year we have the approval in principle by the ministry [of Energy] and the other shareholders to go around for another take for 1 billion. It remains to be seen what’s going to happen um the second quarter and the third , but I think everything should go at pace. It’s a building year”, he said.
However, Chiriță stressed that growth will remain disciplined. “We can expand but we will expand only if it makes sense and it will bring back a return on investment accordingly to what’s happening on the market because the market is moving really fast. So we need to keep pace,” he said.
Electrica is also evaluating opportunities in Republic of Moldova, despite ongoing regional instability, positioning itself, together with partners, as a potential major regional player and contributing to Romania’s role as an energy hub.
The CEO acknowledged the dual pressure of operating at full investment capacity. While being at 100% investment signals commitment and ambition, it also means that additional funding may require tariff increases, and given the currently high energy prices, such adjustments are unlikely in the next two years, but he expects market conditions to normalize over time.
Alexandru Chiriță also mentioned Electrica transforming itself from a utility company, “a simple blue chip stock”, into “something else”. “There is something that keeps me really optimistic and that’s technology. […] With the integration of newer technologies and AI, I think Electrica will become something larger than itself and we will see so many benefits,” he concluded.
The conference “International Approach London” was organized by Energynomics, with the support of the Embassy of Romania to the UK and the British Embassy in Romania, together with our partners: AJ BRAND, Electrica, Monsson, MyEnerji, Nofar Energy, Waldevar.