APPROXIMATELY 200 MILLION EUROS Hidroelectrica wants to extend the repayment of some credit lines

Euro Insol, the receiver of Hidroelectrica, is currently talking to its creditor banks about the extension by a year of the repayment of some credit lines. Remus Borza, a partner in Euro Insol, said that the lines of credit in question amount to approximately 200 million Euros, and are coming due this year.

He also said that he is negotiating a rescheduling of the commercial loans of Hidroelectrica: "We want to repay about 25% of these commercial loans this year and to negotiate with the contractors and the suppliers a 1-2 years scheduling of the owed amounts".

Hidroelectrica is currently on time with the payment of the obligations pertaining to the loans and credit lines it has taken from the 15 lender banks. From the date of the beginning of the insolvency procedure and until the end of last month, Hidroelectrica repaid to the banks the amount of 650 million lei, thus considerably reducing their exposure of over 2.5 billion lei, Euro Insol states. The energy producer owes approximately 4.4 billion lei.

Euro Insol has renegotiated 425 commercial contracts of Hidroelectrica and has obtained commercial discounts of almost 440 million lei.

For this year, Hidroelectrica only has one commissioning scheduled - that of the outfitting of the Racoviţa plant, which is part of the Hydroelectric Setup of the Olt river, on the Cornetu-Avrig sector. Remus Borza told us that the next major investments will be commissioned in 2015-2016, namely the works on the Dumitra and Bretea plants.

For this year, Hidroelectrica has scheduled investments of 120 million Euros out of their own sources.

In the beginning of the year, Euro Insol unblocked the call for tenders for the retooling of the Stejaru hydroelectric plant, for which a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been approved. The value of the investment is estimated at 110 million Euros. The financing of the project by the EBRD is subject to the ending of the insolvency procedure, in a manner which would prove satisfactory to the EBRD and to the approval by the bank of the plan for the reorganization of Hidroelectrica SA. The pre-qualifying documents are expected until March 15th.