less than a year after it took over the infrastructure (and reportedly the management) of its predecessor, Termoenergetica, the successor of Bucharest’s bankrupt municipal district heating provider RADET, might also go bankrupt.t
ELCEN, heat and electricity producer that delivers hot water and heat to Termoenergetica, claims that the latter has accumulated unpaid bills of over 87 million euros. In its turn, ELCEN has unpaid bills to natural gas suppliers of over 40 million euros. ELCEN could thus register a negative cash flow, which will lead to the impossibility of paying the bills issued by the natural gas supplier. In this context, ELCEN claims that it has already received a notification about the possible cessation of the supply of natural gas in the event of non-payment of financial obligations.
Ovidiu Neacsu from Sierra Quadrant, the judicial manager of ELCEN, said that if this situation is reached, ELCEN will no longer be able to produce the thermal energy necessary for the supply of hot water and district heating in Bucharest. The current situation shows that Termoenergetica took from RADET not only the same management team which put RADET into bankruptcy but also the management model, implemented in the same disastrous way in the new company.
ELCEN is under the control of the Ministry of Energy, while Termoenergetica is controlled by the Bucharest City Hall, led by opposing Social Democrats. Thus, the dispute between the two companies has been strongly politicized in recent years.
