“We do not have the means to change, restrict or cancel commercial contracts, to obtain better prices for Hidroelectrica. Perhaps the periods in the contracts are too extended,” Trihenea told a seminar.
The company took over these contracts, concluded between 2000 and 2004, and extended half of them, in 2009, until 2018.
At the end of September, the company activated a force majeure clause and reduced deliveries by more than 30%, because of a drought that reduced water levels on rivers.
According to Trihenea, between the notification of force majeure and the activation of this clause, three months have passed, and the company has accumulated losses.
The European Commission is looking at the contracts concluded between Hidroelectrica and Arcelor Mittal Galati and Alro Slatina. Other contracts analyzed are those concluded with energy distributors. The grounds for the inspection are the claim that the agreements sell energy below market price.