Joaquin Almunia, Vice-President of the European Commission and Competition Commissioner said Friday that ArcelorMittal and Alro benefited from state aid and bought cheaper energy from Hidroelectrica.
The lower tariffs can help bring down cost prices for beneficiaries, but they also hurt the competition, while industrial consumers in other sectors end up paying higher prices because the market is distorted, Almunia told an energy conference in Bucharest.
The issue of bilateral energy and gas contracts signed by state-owned generators has been intensively debated over the last years.
Hidroelectrica, a key player in the segment, has been repeatedly accused of selling power at prices lower than the market rates and of keeping the contracts confidential.
Several attempts to make the contracts public have been blocked by the companies that signed contracts with Hidroelectrica, but some of the details were recently released by investment fund Fondul Proprietatea (FP.RO), a minority holder in several energy companies.
On a separate note, Almunia said the authorities in Brussels are also looking into a possible state aid in favor of chemical plant Oltchim (OLT.RO). Additionally, the Commission is analyzing a note sent by Romanian government regarding the decommissioning of non-profitable coal mines.