Coal miners’ strike pushes up electricity price in Romania, costs company millions

A local court admitted the request filed by state-owned coal and electricity producer CE Oltenia (CEO) for the termination of the miners’ strike, but the protests continued and the employees refused to return to work. The court’s decision is not final and can be appealed. The negotiations for finding an amiable compromise reached no end: the employees refused the management’s proposal for a RON 700 (EUR 150) monthly wage hike plus holiday vouchers in amount of RON 1,450 (EUR 300) per year. The company’s management warned that the law entitles it to take extreme steps against the employees refusing to observe the court’s decision: disciplinary measures, termination of the labour contract and even charging damages. The company can incur losses in amount of RON 15 million (EUR 3.2 million) per day if forced to buy electricity from the spot market to make the promised deliveries (particularly the deliveries it is supposed to make on the power balancing market), the company stressed. Amid such problems faced by the country’s second-largest electricity producer, electricity prices on the spot market reached an all-time high on January 16 (delivery date January 17): RON 507 (EUR 108) per MWh on average for the whole day. The past record dated from January 31, 2017 -- during the period of high prices that resulted in several traders going bankrupt. Romanian miners remain on strike as government avoids negotiations editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Facebook / Complexul Energetic Oltenia)