Bucharest City Hall pays almost EUR 100 mln to secure heating

Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea announced yesterday that an agreement between heat distributor RADET, electricity and heat producer ELCEN, and gas producer Romgaz has been signed to secure central heating in Bucharest over the winter. According to the agreement, the Bucharest City Hall will pay some RON 417 million (EUR 92.7 million) in advance directly to Romgaz for acquiring the necessary natural gas to produce the thermal energy for this winter. ELCEN is a state-owned company that produces electricity and hot water for Bucharest’s residents, and is under the Energy Ministry’s authority whereas energy distributor RADET is controlled by the Bucharest City Hall. Both companies entered insolvency in September. The money paid by the Bucharest City Hall will be exclusively used to secure the necessary stock of gas for the functioning of RADET, Firea said. The approval of the agreement among RADET, ELCEN and Romgaz will be voted by the Bucharest General Council on October 31. editor@romania-insider.com