Romanian electricity distributor wants to charge consumers for weather-related infrastructure damages

Romanian group Electrica, the largest electricity distributor and supplier in the local market, plans to charge consumers for the damages caused by the falling of hundreds of utility poles because of last week’s harsh weather conditions, Hotnews.ro reported. The company had RON 2.76 billion (EUR 600 million) worth of cash reserves at the end of last year, after completing only two-thirds of its investment program. Over 400 power poles in the Braila, Buzau, Galati, Vrancea, Prahova, and Cluj counties fell down because of the powerful wind last week, leaving some 130,000 consumers disconnected from the power grid. Catalin Stancu, the general director of Electrica, said that the damages need to be accepted by the local energy authority ANRE and reflected in the final tariffs paid by consumers, according to Hotnews.ro. He estimated the damages to amount to “several million RON” and the impact on the tariffs to be insignificant. “According to the methodology, the damages need to be recognized by ANRE,” Stancu said, quoted by Agerpres. The Energy Minister, Toma Petcu, had previously said he would ask ANRE to not accept the damages suffered by electricity companies last week as part of the tariffs charged to consumers. Around 80% of Electrica’s infrastructure has been built between 1960 and 1990 and is in need of upgrading, according to company reports presented by Hotnews.ro. Only 20% of its equipment meets current standards. For 2016, Electrica had an investment plan amounting to RON 844.6 million (EUR 187.6 million) but only made investments worth RON 569.4 million (EUR 126.5 million), some 67% of the planned amount. Last year, the company reported a consolidated net profit of RON 469 million (EUR 103 million) last year. Electrica's distribution network covers over 40% of the country’s territory. The Romanian state has a stake of 48.8% in the company. The remaining shares are held by investors on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange, including the EBRD. editor@romania-insider.com