FP: "For now, there are no regulations on the restriction of votes in the energy companies"

The European Commission considers that in order to ensure the correct application of the regulations concerning the unbundling of activities in energy companies, the Proprietatea Fund (FP) will no longer be allowed to exercise its right to vote in Transelectrica and Transgaz.

Romania does not currently have a regulation in effect concerning the implementation of voting restrictions in companies operating in the energy sector, based on the provisions of the Directive concerning the functioning of the European energy market, the manager of the Proprietatea Fund (FP), Greg Konieczny told us.

He said: "We know that Romania is in the middle of a process to form the institutional environment in order to submit to the provisions of Directive 2009/72/CE concerning the rules of the internal electricity market. This also includes the requirement which stipulates that the same entity is not entitled «to appoint members on the Supervisory Board, on the Board of Directors or on other bodies that represent the company from a legal point of view in the case of a transport operator or of a transport system and to also exercise, directly or indirectly, the control or to exercise any right over a company that conducts any of the activities of production and supply » (Art. 9 letter [c]). Compliance with these rules is a necessary requirement for the conclusion of the certification of the transport and system operators which adhere to the principle of independence".

He said that the Proprietatea Fund was not notified by the ANRE (the regulator of the energy market) about the current stage of process for the certification of the transport and system operators and will continue to use its rights as a minority shareholder of these companies until the time the certification process will be completed.

BURSA yesterday exclusively published the information that the representatives of the European Commission present on this day in Bucharest have deemed that the rules concerning unbundling of activities in the energy sector can be successfully seen through, in the context where Transelectrica and Transgaz have implemented the process for the appointment of professional managers. FP can still exercise without any problem its votes in the General Shareholder Meetings of the companies for the production, distribution and supply of the authority of the Department of Energy, but not at Transelectrica and Transgaz. FP will however be able to keep its shares in the two energy transport companies and still collect dividends for them.