Karoly Borbely, CEO Hidroelectrica: “We must continue investing in maintenance and modernization”

Hidroelectrica aims to invest in maintenance and modernization, but also in increasing production and storage capacity.

“The consolidation of the company and the plan we have to implement is what gives us value in the long term. We must continue the investments in maintenance and modernization. Certainly the diversification of the production portfolio through the acquisition of projects in the renewable area and, of course, in the storage area are very important”, said Karoly Borbely, CEO of Hidroelectrica, at Capital Markets Day.

“I think the most important thing is that this summer we saw how complicated it was for Romania to produce 8,500 MWh in a period of high consumption, at 18.00 and 23.00, when due to the very high heat the consumption increased mainly due to consumers housewives Of these 8,500 MWh, half were produced by Hidroelectrica. Between 1,000 and 2,000 MWh were imported from abroad. The Romanian energy system needs production units in the strip that can be relied on and that can be a very solid backup for investments in renewables. This is a very important pillar in the Romanian energy sector”, added Borbely.

“This summer the energy system was put to the test and colleagues can tell how many hours they didn’t sleep this summer sitting with their phone connected and on Teams. At one point, there were no longer any set times for meetings, they were continuous, 24 hours a day, to produce with all the units we have available. We did no maintenance work all summer to ensure the very high delivery. Everyone must know that in order to be efficient, we must increase the efficiency and lifetime of the equipment, but we must also do mandatory maintenance work after a certain period of operation”, said Karoly Borbely.

In the first nine months of 2024, Hidroelectrica produced 22 percent less net electricity compared to the similar period in 2023.

Hidroelectrica is the largest producer of green energy in Romania and provides technological services for the National Energy System. The company operates 187 plants with a hydropower capacity of 6.3 GW. In addition, it owns a wind farm at Crucea, with an installed power of 108 MW.