General Manager of Italian Enel Francesco Starace said that the company has proposed to the Romanian Government to remove the price cap for energy distributors and to introduce the possibility for distributors to buy energy through bilateral contracts directly from producers.
Starace said that 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, Enel is 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 the company’s financial results.
He said that Enel had several proposals to the Government, 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/MWh and guarantees from the state budget for financing. As for the surcharge, it will probably be applied for tariffs over 90 euros/MWh. Starace added that signals from the Government indicate that the emergency ordinance may be changed in some parts.
The company’s CFO Alberto De Paoli said that the Romanian subsidiaries had a lower EBITDA by 100 million euros in 2021, 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 euros.
Last November, after the Government introduced price caps on electricity and natural gas and additional taxes for energy producers, Enel officials said they were considering reducing investments in Romania as a result of these regulations.
