The amounts obtained by Electrica following the listing of the company were used in two major directions, the acquisition of assets and investments, said Corina Popescu, general manager of Electrica SA.

“First of all, Electrica bought back from Fondul Proprietatea the shares it held in the group of companies, because Electrica was very keen to start the transformation process, and with Fondul Proprietatea, things were very tough. With the rest, we lent the distribution companies for investment. In total, during the five years since the listing, the investments were over three billion lei in the distribution networks …. The financial resource increased. It was a money raise to be able to cope with a very ambitious investment plan. On the distribution segment, it started the «make it happen» era. In the third regulatory period, Electrica had the most ambitious investment plan. It was a fantastic effort for all. During this period we also had a comprehensive program for the internalization of certain activities. It is clear that the transformation process that I was telling you was starting”, said Popescu, according to Agerpres.

”At the time of privatization (of the Electrica subsidiaries – n.r.), and that is what I can tell from my experience, all the operators have begun to transform the companies. Electrica, not. Electrica somehow was frozen in some practices, in a clear way of doing things. The listing was that turning point. We had to do things differently. We must be careful that every penny we spend is returning to the company and bringing a benefit to both shareholders and service recipients. That is, we have to invest in networks to do a better service, we have to look on the supply side how we can optimize it, to be competitive and stay in the market and we have to make sure, because that actually means the listing, that shareholders are somehow rewarded for the confidence they had when they bought Electrica shares,” Popescu added.