Electrica Group: “Electrica Furnizare maintains its status as a stable supplier in the electricity market”

In the context of the information appearing in the public space regarding the financial situation of the supply company within the Electrica Group, Electrica Furnizare S.A., the company issued a press release:

Societatea Energetică Electrica S.A., listed in 2014 on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, reported a profit in the supply segment in the first 6 months of the current year, demonstrating rapid adaptability to market conditions, in parallel with assuming the role of a major contributor to the implementation of energy support schemes. Speculative statements such as the company being in the immediate vicinity of insolvency risk inducing uncertainty to market participants – end customers, companies and investors – and, implicitly, unforeseen behaviors that are unfavorable to the good performance of supply and distribution activities in a market deeply marked by instability.

“In such a difficult context, such as that of the energy market, the Electrica company, a partner of Romanians for over 120 years, calls for balance and collaboration between all parties interested in the energy distribution and supply processes, essential for consumers. Electrica S.A. is in line with the budget approved by the General Meeting of Shareholders in April 2022 and honors its commercial obligations in the conditions in which we are going through a complex period with multiple challenges, reiterating the fact that the correct information of the factors involved is essential and any distortion of the reality of market can lead to imbalances. The situation is exceptional for both suppliers and distributors, their activity being directly affected by the unprecedented increase in the purchase prices of energy from the common markets, as well as by the cash-flow deficits caused by the increase in the values ​​that must be paid for energy purchased for the future. The situation of the operating companies within the Electrica Group is not much different from that of the other players in the market, Electrica reporting transparently and providing details on the level of subsidies to be collected from the state as a result of the application of the electricity price ceiling mechanism and natural gas. The Electrica Group is currently evaluating the impact of the latest legislative and regulatory changes. I also mention that according to the 6-month financial reporting, the supply segment of the Electrica Group registers a net profit of 213 million lei, and the new legislative changes related to the capitalization of the price difference for electricity related to own technological consumption have the potential to determine a positive impact on the distribution segment, aspects that will be revealed in the financial reporting for the third quarter that will be published on November 15, 2022”, said Alexandru-Aurelian Chiriță, the general director of Electrica S.A.

Regarding the information that appeared in the public space, according to which the Romanian state delivered in advance to the supply company within the Group sums of money regarding customer protection measures, we make it clear that all the amounts settled to Electrica Furnizare S.A. they were made based on the applications submitted and approved by the competent state bodies, according to the regulations and legal terms in force.

Also, regarding the payment capacity of Electrica Furnizare S.A., we mention that it is guaranteed at the level of Grup de Electrica S.A., which contracted new credit facilities of over 2 billion lei in the first half of the year, through a financing structure accepted by all partner banks of the Group.

Despite the difficult market context, the strategy and resilience plans implemented by the Group’s management at the level of the operating companies have allowed rapid adaptation to atypical market conditions, which proves that Electrica is and will remain a credible and stable partner for Romanians.