Hidroelectrica faces scrutiny over alleged preferential electricity supply to politically linked firms

State-controlled Hidroelectrica (BVB: H2O) allegedly supplied electricity for years to politically connected companies and religious institutions without issuing invoices or collecting payments, according to public data analysed by investigative platform Recorder. The supplies were made under valid contracts, but billing did not occur, the media revealed.

The situation was uncovered during a routine inspection by the Court of Accounts.

Hidroelectrica rejected allegations of political bias and stated that invoicing delays were caused in some instances by technical constraints, while disconnections for certain customers were prohibited during the pandemic, Ziarul Financiar reported. The company also acknowledged the possibility of fraud related to supply operations, noting that such cases had been reported by Hidroelectrica itself to prosecutors for investigation.

According to the Court of Accounts, between January 2018 and June 2022, Hidroelectrica supplied electricity to twenty legal entities without invoicing the value of the energy delivered, despite receiving monthly consumption statements for each supply point.

One of the main beneficiaries was reportedly a company controlled by Alin Udriște, vice president of PNL Mehedinți and a protégé of former energy minister Virgil Popescu, who served from 2020 to 2023. The company had already entered insolvency in January 2018, when it signed an electricity supply contract with Hidroelectrica, a situation that should have been legally impossible under insolvency rules.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)