Enel has proposed to the Romanian government some measures for the next period, including the elimination of the tariff ceiling for energy distribution and the possibility for distributors to buy energy through bilateral contracts directly from producers, said Francesco Starace, general manager of the Enel Group, in a conference with analysts held on Thursday.
“Romania’s case remains open, given that the Government is struggling with rising prices due to the situation on the gas market. In terms of supply, we are affected by the way the Government has chosen to intervene on the free market, a decision that is hard to understand. In terms of the distribution sector, the increase in prices and the 7% ceiling are affecting our financial results,” Starace was quoted as saying by Agerpres.
He said that after the Government adopts the measures that will be applied from April 1, the company will analyze their impact.
“We have had several proposals, including the elimination of the price cap, and distributors to be able to buy energy from existing producers through bilateral contracts at a price of 90 euros per MWh and guarantees from the state budget for financing. As for the surcharge, it will probably be applied for tariffs over 90 euros per MWh. We are confident in the signals we have that the Government may change the law in some parts,” said Enel’s CEO.
In his turn, Alberto De Paoli, the financial director, showed that, in Romania, the company had a lower EBITDA by 100 million euro in 2021, as compared to the previous year.
This decrease was influenced by the results of the fourth quarter, when Enel Energie and Enel Energie Muntenia recorded operating losses of over 100 million euro.
In November last year, after the government set the price cap on energy and gas and surcharged energy producers, Enel officials said they were considering reducing investment in Romania as a result of these regulations.
In reply, the Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, gave assurances that these measures will be applied only until March 31.