EC greenlights Romania’s EUR 37.7 mln rescue aid for energy producer

The European Commission approved a EUR 37.7 million temporary rescue aid Romania gave the energy producer Complexul Energetic Hunedoara. The Commission found the aid was in line with EU norms and was limited to the amount the company needed to keep its electric power plants working for the next six months and to pay its creditors. However, before receiving the new aid, the company has to pay back a previous aid stemming from 2012. The company is in dire straits after posting losses in 2013 and 2014, so the state decided to offer it short term loans to keep it afloat. Complexul Energetic Hunedoara, headquartered in Petrosani, employs some 6,500 and is the biggest company in the Hunedoara county. It has a 5% market share of the electricity production. The company supplies thermal energy to households in Deva and the cities in the Jiului Valley. Complexul Energetic Hunedoara is the legal successor of Termoelectrica and Electrocentrale Deva. The latter two were at the core of an undue economic advantage by signing contracts with Hidroelectrica, an EC analysis found in 2012. The EC discovered power producer Hidroelectrica paid above market level prices to Termoelectrica and Electrocentrale Deva. So Complexul Energetic Hunedoara has to return some EUR 6 million worth of incompatible aid, before getting anything else. editor@romania-insider.com