Bucharest’s heating supplier risks insolvency as City Hall accumulates unpaid bills

ELCEN, a state-owned electricity and heat producer that supplies heat and hot water for households in Bucharest connected to the public heating system, announced in a press release that it is approaching insolvency, Mediafax reported.

It will no longer be able to pay its own bills to gar producer Romgaz and the wages to its employees as the city has failed to disburse the front payments for the months of December and January as agreed last November.

The unpaid bills amount to RON 210 mln (EUR 44 mln). Another bill in amount of RON 170 million (EUR 35 mln) has been issued by ELCEN, due January 29.

In the first half of February, the municipality is supposed to pay to Termoenergetica, the new company that took over the heat distribution activity from bankrupt RADET, the subsidy for December in amount of RON 213 mln - a sum that should cover the front payments asked by ELCEN for the months of December and January.

Termoenergetica completely took over the activity of RADET, becoming the new thermal energy operator of the capital city, as of December 1, 2019.

(Photo: Kenishirotie/ Dreamstime)