THE "ENERGY PLUGGED IN" CONFERENCE, 2ND EDITION / FRANK HAJDINJAK, E.ON: "We won't get involved in electric plant super-projects"

The Romanian energy sector needs significant investments, according to Mr. Frank Hajdinjak, the CEO of E.ON Romania, who says that the company he leads is proceeding with its investment plan in the electricity and gas distribution network, which is one of the biggest this year.

Frank Hajdinjak said: "E.ON will not involved in super-projects for huge electric plants, we are interested in the small investments that are close to consumers". Mr. Hajdinjak, who also serves as president of the Association of Utility Companies (ACUE), added that the liberalization of the electricity market in Romania was successful, that it is a fluid market, where all the elements in the supply chain are "in place": "We have many producers. The market has all the necessary components".

On the other hand, Mr. Frank Hajdinjak says, the situation is different on the market for natural gas, which must be "fluidized", which is why the liberalization of this sector must be postponed. "It would be a mistake if the liberalization of prices for the household consumers wasn't postponed. The country is in a recession, we need to be very careful not to burden consumers any further", the E.ON representative says, who mentioned that prices in the sector are already at a peak and any price hike will be hard to bear. Mr. Hajdinjak also warns that on the market for natural gas, consumption is dropping and he thinks that it would be best if small companies stayed on the regulated market after January 1st, 2015 as well.