IMF mission head Jeffrey Franks told a news conference in Bucharest that some of the energy “wise guys” agreed to renegotiate contracts with Hidroelectrica, while others refuse to accept the new terms. He declined to name the firms that refuse to renegotiate the contracts.
The bilateral deals in question were negotiated directly between Hidroelectrica and the beneficiaries, dubbed “wide guys”, and they come with very low, non-competitive prices for the electricity delivered. Hidroelectrica started concluding direct supply contracts in 2000, and half of these agreements were extended until 2018.
The European Commission announced in April it opened five distinct in-depth investigations to assess whether Hidroelectrica purchased or sold electricity at preferential tariffs.
Hidrolectrica is Romania’s largest power producer, covering around one third of the national energy output. The company delivers 70% of its energy output to industrial consumers.