The company’s shares have been the star of the Bucharest bourse this year, with a 63% increase, owing to the higher-than-expected financial figures reported by the company, fuelled by rising tariffs.
Energy exchanges between Romania and the Republic of Moldova are operated with difficulty at present since the electrical power network of the former Soviet Union operate at other frequencies than those of the EU.
The power grid operators of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova started calling for the synchronous interconnection with the European grid as early as 2006. Transelectrica now wants to forge a consortium with the energy transmission companies of Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria and Serbia, plus a Belgian consultancy, to draw up the feasibility study for the project.
Should the conclusions of the feasibility study be positive, Transelectrica and Moldelectrica would have to carry out considerable investments in high-voltage lines and other infrastructure elements.
After a first year-half when net profit more than doubled, to RON226 million, Transelectrica had RON635 million in its accounts. Investors welcomed the company’s performance and TEL stock rose by 60% since the start of the year. The state-run company has a market value of RON1.84 billion.
Investments in boosting interconnection capacity with neighboring countries appear in Transelectrica’s plans as a move to counter the local energy decline by creating export opportunities for local producers. Their market would thus expand, considering the Republic of Moldova had an energy gap f 3.33 TWh last year.
Interconnection would strengthen the Republic of Moldova’s energy security. Moreover, energy from Romania would be much cheaper than the one the Republic of Moldova imports from other countries.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)