The Diplomat-Bucharest reveals the energy champions of the 2023 Energy Awards Gala

What a great evening we had at the 2023 Energy Awards Gala organized by The Diplomat and now in its 12th edition! As every year, the flagship event of The Diplomat-Bucharest celebrated excellence in energy and the impressive achievements of the winners at the JW Marriott Grand Hotel Hotel in Bucharest.

These things would not have been possible without the support of our great partners, to whom we would like to say a big thank you: 

Gold Partners Hidroelectrica, CEZ Romania, INFORM, E.ON Romania, Distributie Energie Electrica Romania (DEER), Romgaz, ENGIE Romania

Partners Tinmar Energy, Nuclearelectrica, Transgaz, FPPG, Nova Power & Gas, OMV Petrom, Transelectrica.

Supporting Partners RWEA, AFEER, ACUE, AHK Romania, HENRO, World Energy Council, CCIFER, Romanian Energy Center (CRE).

Romania’s energy champions were decided by the esteemed jury committee, comprised of 7 top professionals from various business sectors: 

Zoltan Nagy, Former Vice President, ANRE,

Anca Dragu, Senator,

Valeriu Binig, Director, Regulatory and Antitrust, Enel,

Radu Dudau, Director, Energy Policy Group,

Silvia Vlasceanu, Executive Director HENRO,

Ilinca Pandele, Head of Department Members’ Services and Vocational Education & Training, AHK Romania,

Daniela Daraban, Executive Director ACUE,

Kurt Weber, Managing Director, Horvath Romania.

A special thank you to our jury members for supporting this iconic event organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest!

And now it’s time to reveal the list of winners at the 2023 Energy Awards Gala:

ENERGY COMPANY OF THE YEAR

The Energy Company of the Year award is given to a company that was established in 2015 in Timisoara. Last year, this company developed 60 photovoltaic projects, with an installed capacity of 15 MW, for players in retail, HoReCa or industry. The company reported a turnover of 55 million euros in 2022 and sales of 10 million euros in the segment of photovoltaic installations.

The ENERGY COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD goes to RESTART ENERGY.

Finalists: Adrem, Delgaz Grid, E.ON, Hidroelectrica.

ENERGY MANAGER OF THE YEAR

The Energy Manager of The Year award is given to a CEO with extensive experience on the energy market in Romania. He runs a company which recently celebrated 30 years of activity on the local market. On the list of his priorities are the sustainable growth of the business, the support of the energy transition and the active contribution to the economic development of Romania.

ENERGY MANAGER OF THE YEAR is Corneliu Bodea, CEO Adrem.

OIL AND GAS COMPANY OF THE YEAR

This award is given to a company that has one of the most ambitious investment plans in Romania. This company wants to attract European funds worth 700 million euros by 2030, and another 1.5 billion euros from its own funds will be invested in the development of natural gas and electricity networks in Romania. For 2023, the investment budget is a record: over 185 million Euros, 36 percent higher than in 2022.

OIL AND GAS COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD goes to DELGAZ GRID.

Finalists: Conpet, Transgaz, Distrigaz Sud Retele, Mol Romania.

OIL AND GAS PROJECT OF THE YEAR

The Oil and Gas Project of The Year award goes to the company that completed and inaugurated the Pojorâta – Vatra Dornei pipeline section, related to the Frasin – Câmpulung Moldovenesc – Vatra Dornei natural gas pipeline project. The value of the execution works of the natural gas transport pipeline section was approximately 3.5 million euros.

The OIL AND GAS PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD is offered to TRANSGAZ.

Finalists: Romgaz, Mol Romania.

CROSS-SECTOR PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

This award goes to two companies that collaborated to build the largest photovoltaic park in Romania, located in Calarasi County. The photovoltaic panels mounted on the ground will provide approximately 20% of the electricity needs of the glass factory owned by the beneficiary. The amount of green energy produced is estimated at over 14,000 MWh/year.

CROSS-SECTOR PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR goes to ENGIE ROMANIA and SAINT-GOBAIN ROMANIA.

Finalists: E-Distributie, Enel X Romania, Electrica Furnizare.

AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN ENERGY

This award goes to the company that has implemented an advanced network mapping solution, for their safer operation and increasing the quality of electricity supply. The electricity distribution operators within the Enel group have implemented the Global Repository & 3D Modeling solution, through which the electricity network operated in Bucharest and in the 10 counties of the country is digitally recreated, faithfully following the characteristics of the original network. The main purpose is to facilitate access to the network, especially in hard-to-reach areas, to perform virtual inspections and thus to correct any anomalies before they lead to damage.

The AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN ENERGY goes to E-DISTRIBUTIE.

Finalists: Delgaz Grid, Nuclearelectrica, Transelectrica.

TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER OF THE YEAR

This award goes to the company that will supply key components for the upcoming 1,700 MW gas-fired plant at Mintia, touted as the largest and most efficient in the EU. Combined cycle gas turbine technology provider Mintia is one of the world’s leading energy technology companies. Its portfolio includes conventional and renewable energy technologies such as gas and steam turbines, hydrogen-powered hybrid power plants, and power generators and transformers.

The winner of the TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER OF THE YEAR award is SIEMENS ENERGY.

Finalists: ABB, Signify, Schneider Electric

ENERGY TRANSITION AWARD

This award goes to one of the most important training programs in the field of renewable energy. Climate transition skills training and international cooperation on climate education are important goals for a cleaner environment. Considering the achievement of climate neutrality at the level of the European Union and the growing demand on the labor market for professionals in the field of green energy, the need to find qualified specialists is felt, including by citizens interested in investing in renewable energy for their own homes. Within this program, both dedicated courses are taught for the qualification of future technicians who will work in the renewable energy industry, especially wind energy and photovoltaic solar energy, as well as existing technicians who want to deepen the knowledge acquired through more advanced courses.

We give this award to the RESS – RENEWABLE ENERGY SCHOOL OF SKILLS program.

Finalists: Adrem, Electrica Furnizare, OMV Petrom

BEST DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

The Best Digital Transformation Program of The Year award is offered to the company that has implemented a digital transformation program on process automation to increase the quality and performance of financing processes. At the same time, the winner of this award completed a digital skills development project for employees financed with EU funds. Approximately 350 company employees participated in courses to develop basic and advanced digital skills. The courses targeted training in areas such as energy systems monitoring and information, critical infrastructure cyber security and data science.

The BEST DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM OF THE YEAR AWARD goes to OMV PETROM DIGITAL FINANCE.

Finalists: E-Distributie, Transelectrica.

GREEN MOBILITY AWARD

This award is given for the opening of the first four integrated service centers on the A1 Motorway (Nădlac – Sibiu section). The four stations inaugurated this year are part of a package of 12 service centers that will be opened on the A1, with a total investment estimated at over 40 million dollars. Each service center is equipped with six fueling points for passenger cars, two fast fueling points for trucks/TIRs/buses, an AdBlue pump, plus four fast charging stations for electric cars. To reduce energy consumption, the company is analyzing the possibility of installing photovoltaic panels with high efficiency.

The GREEN MOBILITY AWARD goes to the Kazakh-Romanian Energy Investment Fund and Rompetrol Downstream – the retail division of the KMG International Group in Romania.

Finalists: ABB, Mol Romania, OTP Leasing.

ENERGY CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AWARD

The Energy CSR award is given to a project that reached its 10th edition in 2022. The Oltenia Marathon is a sports event with a tradition of good deeds. Every year, the organizer of this event doubles and donates the registration fees of the participants to 3 social causes that support the community of Oltenia.

The ENERGY CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AWARD goes to CEZ ROMANIA for the Oltenia Marathon initiative.

Finalists: Mol Romania, Nuclearelectrica, OMV Petrom & Energy Policy Group

EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

This category wishes to recognize the merits of a prominent personality of the Romanian nuclear industry. The awardee is a doctor in engineering with extensive experience in the Romanian energy industry, both from a technical and managerial point of view, specialized in nuclear energy, being actively involved in engineering activities for the development of CANDU projects in Romania since the beginning of the ‘80s. His entire career is characterized by his professionalism and dedication to the Romanian nuclear field and he represents a strong voice of the Romanian nuclear industry, recognized as an expert at European level and as a promoter of nuclear energy and nuclear investment projects.

We want to appreciate this activity by giving the distinction of excellence to DR. TEODOR CHIRICA, MEMBER AND PRESIDENT OF THE NUCLEARELECTRICA BOARD.

ENERGY FINANCING OF THE YEAR

The award for the FINANCING PROJECT OF THE YEAR IN THE ENERGY FIELD is given to a financial institution for which the energy transition towards the green economy, the financing, the banking services, and the consultancy offered to clients reflect this desire.

In August 2022, Romgaz announced the completion of the acquisition transaction and the transfer of all shares issued by (representing 100% of the share capital of) ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, which holds 50% of the rights acquired and of the obligations assumed through the Petroleum Agreement for the area of deep water of the XIX Neptun offshore perimeter in the Black Sea. The transaction completed on August 1, 2022, was financed from the company’s own sources and a syndicated bank loan in the amount of 325 million euros, to which the awarded bank contributed 200 million euros.

The award for this category goes to RAIFFEISEN BANK.

Finalists: BCR, EIB.

SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION IN ENERGY

The prize in this category is awarded for the strategy of re-engineering the energy production units, as part of the strategy to contribute to the re-energization of Romania through clean energy, with low costs and 24/7 availability. By expanding nuclear capacity with 2 CANDU units in Romania and an SMR plant, nuclear energy will reach a current estimate of 66% contribution to clean energy, 24 million tons of CO2 avoided per year and more than 20,000 jobs.

This award goes to NUCLEARELECTRICA for the expansion of nuclear capacity with 2 CANDU units in Romania.

Finalists: Distributie Oltenia, E.ON, Enel X Romania.

JURY’S SPECIAL AWARD

Special Jury Prize is awarded this year to a manager with over 30 years of experience in energy, being also the longest-serving manager of a company in the Romanian energy market. He is also the Vice-President of Concordia, the largest employers’ confederation in Romania, of the Council of Foreign Investors, as well as the President of the French Councilors for Foreign Trade (CCEF) for Romania. This award is meant to mark our recognition and admiration for his leadership merits, especially since his mandate in Romania will soon end.

The jury’s special award goes to ERIC STAB, MANAGING DIRECTOR EUROPE & AMEA, GLOBAL NETWORKS, CHAIRMAN & CEO, ENGIE ROMANIA.

BRAND OF THE YEAR IN ENERGY

As every year, we offer this award to a company in the energy industry as a result of the public’s online votes. Brand of The Year in Energy is awarded to a key player on the competitive market of energy suppliers in Romania. It is also one of the best performing companies in the portfolio of the Romanian state, with exceptional economic results in the last years, diversification of the portfolio and the opening of new business lines based on the principles of corporate governance of the company. The stock exchange listing is also expected for this company, which will put the Bucharest Stock Exchange on the map of international investors.

BRAND OF THE YEAR IN ENERGY is HIDROELECTRICA.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR

The award in this category is offered for the signing of the contract announced at the beginning of this year and which considers the development of Phase 1 of the engineering and design works, Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED), for the first SMR plant in Romania. Thus, an important step towards the implementation of a NuScale VOYGR power plant with small modular reactors (SMR) in Romania is marked. At the time of signing the contract, it was mentioned that Romania is on the way to becoming the first country in Europe to benefit from safe, reliable and carbon-free small modular reactor technology.

The EMERGING TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR AWARD goes to NUCLEARELECTRICA.

Finalists: Delgaz Grid, Renergy, TINIA.

ENGINEERING SOLUTION OF THE YEAR

This award is for an investment of more than 2 million RON, in two new spare dispatch stations of the awarded company. The backup dispatchers will complete the scheme of digital projects that improve the experience of energy consumers in Oltenia and partially Muntenia (Argeș and Teleorman), with a direct impact in reducing the average time to fix incidents and disturbances. This investment is closely connected with the continuous development of the SCADA system and the implementation of the ADMS strategic project (76 million lei) which promises a smart distribution network.

This award goes to DISTRIBUTIE OLTENIA for the investment in the two new reserve dispatch centers, alongside its ongoing strategic project – ADMS.

Finalists: Delgaz Grid, Photon Energy.

INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY COLLABORATION INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR

The award for academic collaboration is given to a strategic partnership through which more than 150 students participated in trainings and internships within the company that we will award tonight. Each year, 10 paid internships are offered and in the last ten years, 28 students have been employed by the company where they did their internship. Thus, the partnership was recently taken to another level, through the development of the DIGITEL Laboratory – a laboratory that will simulate the processes of the future digital concept station (unique in Romania) in Alba Iulia, which will be completed by 2026.

This award is for the collaboration between TRANSELECTRICA & THE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST.

Finalists: Renergy & Technical University Cluj Napoca

OUTSTANDING INVESTMENT PROGRAM

This award is for a company that recently announced an ambitious investment program of 2.3 billion RON in Romania. In March this year, the company announced that half of this amount will be invested in the Neptun Deep project, and the other investments in the Iernut plant, as well as in mitigating the natural decline in production for the onshore areas. As a result of the mentioned projects, the name of the winner is easy to predict.

The award goes to ROMGAZ for the 2.3 billion RON investment program in 2023 to ameliorate the natural decline of onshore production.

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