The Government approved the memorandum for the Elcen-Termoenergetica merger

The Government of Romania approved on Wednesday the memorandum on the realization of the public service of thermal energy supply in a centralized system (SACET), respectively the production, transport, distribution and supply of thermal energy) in the Municipality of Bucharest, in order to optimally use energy resources and in compliance with environmental protection norms, population health and sustainable development.

With the adoption of the memorandum, the MDLPA (Ministry of Development) will analyze and promote any necessary changes to the legal framework within 90 days. The Ministry of Energy has 15 days to address the General City Hall, to obtain the point of view of the local administration regarding the Elcen-Termoenergetica merger. Later, the two companies will be able to initiate the necessary legal steps, so that the merger can be completed by next year.

Sebastian Burduja, Minister of Energy: “Today we took an important step for the modernization of the centralized heating system in Bucharest. Through the solution provided by the Memorandum approved by the Government of Romania, the Ministry of Energy maintains its commitment to ensure decent living conditions in people’s homes, by solving the problems related to the lack of hot water and heat, and to make investments in an integrated heating system for Bucharest, with the aim of increasing the quality of the public service, at a fair rate for the population and companies. Today, if someone complains that they do not have heat and hot water, they are sent from Termoenergetica to ELCEN and from the General City Hall to the Ministry of Energy.

We have in Romania the successful Oradea model where the system is integrated, modernized and works without problems. The Gcal price in Oradea is around 400 lei, with a subsidy of only 15%, in Bucharest the total price is around 1000 lei, with a subsidy of over 65%. Do you realize what the General City Hall could do with the money that goes to the subsidy for an expensive Gcal?

The integrated system is the only solution to provide the people of Bucharest with heat and hot water in their homes, but it is also a solution to allow the General City Hall to increase its investment budget in the medium and long term, to stop tinkering, think and act strategically.”

Claudiu Crețu, general director of ELCEN: “I managed both companies and I can tell you very clearly that the only solution is the merger between the producer of electricity and thermal energy and the operator of the district heating network in Bucharest, which will allow the creation of a new, efficient, modern company that will be able to attract funds for the synchronized realization of investments both at the level of production sources and at the level of thermal energy transport and distribution networks.

The indissoluble relationship between ELCEN as the majority producer and CMTEB as the transport operator is affected by the fact that the two entities have different subordination but also different development strategies, without a coherence in the modernization and re-technology in a unitary approach of to the two.”