THE 3RD EDITION OF THE "FINANCING THROUGH THE STOCK MARKET" CONFERENCE / RĂZVAN NICOLESCU: "Companies should stop lobbying in Brussels for the hike of the price of natural gas intended for the population"

The delegate minister for Energy, Răzvan Nicolescu, warned companies in the energy sector, which have an interest in an increase of the price of natural gas paid by the population to reduce or even eliminate their lobby actions in Brussels.

He made the following statement in the beginning of the BURSA conference dedicated to the financing through the stock market: "We have legal, social and economic arguments to support our points of view and I am absolutely convinced that we will achieving the goals we have set for ourselves. I want to ask companies in the energy sector, which have an interest in an increase of the price of natural gas paid by the population to reduce or even eliminate their lobby actions in Brussels, because we have legal, economic and social arguments to win in favor of the cause of household consumers. Instead of spending their money on lobby actions that will yield no results, it would be best if they used that money to make more investments, to pay higher dividends to shareholders, or to increase the wages of their own employees".

The Department for Energy recently put up for public debate, the project for extending the schedule for the liberalization of the price of natural gas for the population until 2021. The Department is proposing as part of the new calendar year a freeze of the price of natural gas for the population, starting with autumn this year. The debate ended on September 8th.

Răzvan Nicolescu explained that in the infringement procedure started against Romania there is talk that the liberalization is not being done correctly, meaning it grants priority to the household consumers when it comes to using domestically produced gas. He explained that we must first complete this infringement procedure and Romania must have its right to grant priority to the population when it comes to the domestically produced natural gas, and then the authorities must decide what they are going to do with the price of natural gas for the population and how bearable it is compared to its income.

According to the delegate minister for Energy, in order to postpone the application of the quarterly increases of the price of natural gas for the population, the Government will have to issue a decision and amend the Law on Electricity and Natural Gas no. 123/2012.

The schedule concerning the liberalization of the price of natural gas, agreed by the Government with the European Commission in 2012, stipulates that this process would end on December 31st, 2018. If the Commission agrees to the proposal of the Department for Energy, the liberalization will be extended until July 1st, 2021.

The price of natural gas has already been liberalized for industrial consumers.

The Department for Energy will continue the listing schedule with Complexul Energetic Oltenia and Hidroelectrica, minister Răzvan Nicolescu said.

He said that he wants the two companies to be listed in 2015: "At Complexul Energetic Oltenia we are waiting for the evaluation of the coal resources to be completed. I am expecting the IPO to take place at the end of the first semester of 2015. In the case of Hidroelectrica we are waiting for it to exit insolvency, and I myself want this listing to take place in 2015".

Also, the OPCOM energy exchange could be listed on the BSE after the transfer from Transelectrica to the Department for Energy, minister Nicolescu further said. He wanted to mention: "The listing is one of the solutions to expand the shareholder structure. It could even be done before the listing of the Oltenia and Hidroelectrica complex. We are going to have a public debate concerning the opportunities to expand the shareholder structure, as other options than the listing on the stock exchange are possible".

The official considers that the energy sector in Romania needs investments of 4-5 billion Euros a year, in the next ten years. "I am not referring here to new projects, but also to the needs of the entire system, including the oil sector. I am also referring to works such as the modernization of the networks for the transport of electricity, natural gas and crude oil, the exploration and perimeters for the exploitation of gas and oil, to the production of electricity".

The Minister of Energy consider that state owned energy companies have an investment potential of approximately 2 billion Euros. The investments scheduled in 2014 by these companies amount to 1.3 billion Euros.