“We have always delivered to the regulated segment below market price, and even below production price at times. Our objective is to deliver cheap electricity to the population, but not at half price. We need to cover the costs and we hope to find understanding. (…) We would like to increase these prices by up to 50%,” the company’s general manager Constantin Trihenea told an energy forum Tuesday.
He added the company currently produces electricity at 40%-50% of its capacity, but it hopes to register a profit by the end of the year.
At the same time, he added the company expects an output of 15 TWh this year.
Hidroelectrica is Romania’s largest electricity producer, and it is owned by the Economy Ministry.
The company sells electricity on the regulated market as well as on the competitive market or through bilateral contracts. Some 95% of the company’s output in 2010 was sold locally, while the rest was exported.
Nearly 20% of output delivered last year to the regulated market targeted captive consumers, at regulated prices.