Electrocentrale Bucuresti (ELCEN) agreed with Romgaz to make payment installments, therefore, from 16 October, so the Bucharest inhabitants can have hot water and heating in the winter of 2015-2016, declared for Agerpres, the General Manager ELCEN, Marcel Octavian Nicolaescu.
“We work hard in the coming period with contracts electricity, respectively with the extras that we get in the electricity market. Also, we think of making installments of this payment, if necessary, possibly also to submit some guarantees, mortgages on certain assets of our heritage, to make installments of this payment in the next period and we can benefit from gas to provide heat and hot water in Bucharest. I am confident that we will solve it. We agreed with Romgaz to make this payment installment as from16 October to have gas for all the 2015-2016 winter, ” said Nicolaescu.
“The Gcal price in Bucharest has two components. One component that is paid by the Bucharest citizen, and he pays on time, within the maturity, and a component that is ensured by the budget of the General Council, which is approved along with the budget for the entire City. Every year, their budget, which should support 50% of the other component is not approved until at least 200-300 million (lei – no) every year. Multiply 8 years, from 2008 to 2015, the basic debt ie the principal debt, throughout which we delivered the goods to RADET, heat and hot water, we have not cashed 560 million lei. To this, interests and penalties are added, that lead to almost a billion. This is the fault of the General Council, which over the years, does not budget better, in order to ensure the 50%. The largest debt is for Romgaz ” said the General Manager of ELCEN.
Just a few days ago, Romgaz warned it would stop delivery of gas to ELCEN after 15 October if the heat producer does not propose a debt settlement program.
RADET is the operator of the public heat supply in Bucharest, providing 72% of the heat of the capital. 95% of consumers are of the household type, the rest being of social and industrial type (public institutions and businesses).
It manages 4,000 km of pipelines, the largest district heating system in Romania. The system of centralized supply of heat, has as beneficiaries approximately 570,000 apartments with over 1.22 million inhabitants and 5429 institutions, social and economic objectives. RADET is the main debtor of ELCEN.
ELCEN Bucuresti recorded a turnover last year of 1.9 billion lei (428 million euros), up with 19% compared to 2013. The state company had a 2014 preliminary net profit of 30 million lei, compared to the gain of 51 million lei in 2013.