The German RWE Group with operations on the electricity and gas market is expanding its electricity retail business to the Romanian market. In the following years, the newly launched Romanian subsidiary RWE Energie is planning to gain a noticeable market share as a non-incumbent provider.
RWE had already set up three years ago a branch in Oradea through its Hungarian subsidiary MASZ to look into the market opportunities in form of a pilot venture. Since 2011 RWE gained the necessary understanding of the Romanian electricity retail market and set up a recognizable portfolio. The experiences made and the achieved successes are important arguments to expand its activities to the entire Romanian market now.
The expansion into new markets in Central and South-Eastern Europe is a key element of its strategy. In addition to the established core markets in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, RWE has also entered the Turkish and Croatian markets in recent years. As the next step, RWE has decided to expand its retail activities to Romania, a stable market with a considerable potential.
For this reason, RWE has recently launched its Romanian daughter company RWE Energie which has received the necessary electricity trading license from the Romanian Energy Office (ANRE) in April this year and is starting off from now on its operation with headquarters in Bucharest.
RWE Energie’s goal is to acquire-as a non-incumbent provider-a noticeable share of the free electricity market and make it under the TOP 10 electricity traders in Romania. After strengthening its foothold in Bucharest and surrounding areas, the medium-term plans include continued expansion-possibly through opening of regional offices-to reach nationwide coverage over time.
RWE targets small, medium-size and large business customers in Romania. Due to its significant international background, experience and reliability, RWE – THE ENERGY TO LEAD is a Europe-wide well renowned brand in the energy sector. In order to serve the Romanian electricity market with the best possible offers, RWE Energie Srl. can rely on the RWE Group know-how, innovative product solutions and synergies from all over Europe, resulting in favorable offers to the Romanian business customers. In the near future RWE also intends to apply to the Romanian Energy Office for a gas trading license, in order to offer its partners electricity and gas as a one-stop service provider.
The Romanian RWE subsidiary will be managed by two managing directors, Corina Drumeanu and Zoltan Nagy. Drumeanu is responsible for the day-to-day business in Bucharest and Nagy coordinates the general business activities within the RWE Group. RWE Energie plans to build up a sales team of 30 to 40 people in the upcoming years.
“We are looking forward to our business in Romania. The country’s general regulatory and economic environment, the competitive energy market, the openness toward international investors, as well as the developed international business culture are just a few reasons, why RWE has decided to enter the Romanian market. I feel confident that our Romanian team will reach all of our goals. For this I wish them a lot of success”, explained Marie-Theres Thiell, Managing Director of RWE East.