The Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGMS) of Electrica approved, with 100% of the votes of the present shareholders, the proposals of the Board of Directors regarding the merger project by absorption of the three electricity distribution operators within the Electrica Group (SDEE Transilvania Nord, SDEE Transilvania Sud, SDEE Muntenia Nord), as well as the proposals related to the merger project of the two energy services companies – Subsidiary for Maintenance and Energy Services Electrica Serv SA (FISE) and Servicii Energetice Muntenia SA (SEM).
Starting with January 1, 2021, the new entity resulting in the distribution area will be called “Distributie Energie Electrică România SA” (DEER). In the process concerning the three distribution operators, the absorbing company will be SDEE Transilvania Nord, and in the case of the energy service companies the absorbing company will be the Maintenance and Energy Services Branch Electrica Serv SA (FISE).
In this context, the role of the value chain distribution activity is changing, and the main objectives of the strategy defined for this segment envisage improvements and optimizations on three dimensions: operational performance, quality of services and cost optimization to the final consumer. To these are added the long-term strategic directions, focused on consolidating and developing the business model, in conjunction with the preparation of distribution networks to meet the challenges of the energy transition.
In 2019, the three operators of the Electrica Group distributed approximately 17.7 TWh, which represents approximately 40% of the total electricity distributed nationwide to end users.
Regarding the service area, the main objective is to become an integrated provider of energy solutions, with benefits such as: unitary management and governance, organizational synergies, improved business activity, integrated service offering, as well as knowledge transfer and capacity building execution of works.
The two merger projects are in line with the directions of transformation and optimization of the Electrica Group’s activity, started with the listing on the stock exchange. In the five years since the listing, the Electrica Group has become the largest investor in the country’s energy infrastructure, with a total of 3.4 billion lei invested, to which is added the ongoing plan for 2020, worth 600 million lei.
“With the listing on the stock exchange, the plans of the Electrica Group became more and more ambitious and had as a premise the transition of the business to the next level, so that our consumers benefit from services at the highest standards. Today, we are facing a new stage in the life of the Group, which marks the acceleration of the transformation process it is going through and generates new synergies that will add value to all parties involved.
The positive opinion of our shareholders for the two merger projects is another important step in implementing the Electrica Group’s strategy for the period 2019-2023 and contributes to achieving our goal of becoming a more robust, more performant and more efficient organization,” said Corina Popescu, general manager, Electrica.