“Unless energy prices increase, there will be no more investments. Many production facilities are bound to shut down and Romania will have to import energy,” Borotea told a seminar Tuesday.
He said the Economy Ministry should allow companies to increase tariffs for household consumers.
Household energy prices are regulated by the authorities, for social protection reasons. The European Commission and the International Monetary Fund have asked the government to liberalize prices and bring them to EU levels.
“No one is asking to charge double, but you cannot leave prices at their current levels either. Energy suppliers to household consumers would be pushed to bankruptcy,” Borotea said.
CEZ operates several hydropower companies and wind farms in Romania. According to Borotea, the Czech group plans to invest EUR3 billion in new energy units in the next two years, and some of the projects could be developed in Romania.