The intensification of a global approach to energy purchases by industrial consumers and the evolution of local markets led Theodor Livinschi, former sales director of MET, to found the first Romanian consulting and representation company that offers this type of specialized services.

partnerg-i presents itself as a unique company in the local market, which aims to support industrial consumers in the acquisition and management of services to provide the two commodities. Before setting up partner-i, Theodor Livinschi have been working for three years at MET Romania Energy, the fourth largest electricity supplier at the end of 2019. For two and a half years, Theodor Livinschi coordinated the operations of sale of electricity and natural gas supply services to final consumers.

With an experience of over 5 years in the energy field, which completes the specialized higher education, Theodor Livinschi had the opportunity to actively participate in the completion of two important merger and acquisition processes, respectively the successive takeovers by MET of Repower and RWE.

“For all these years, I have dedicated myself to representing the interests of the companies in which I have operated, as well as to the development of the electricity and natural gas supply markets”, he says. “I promoted the implementation of innovative products for the Romanian market, as outlined by the global purchasing strategies of industrial consumers, but also the guarantee of the prices offered to them and their consultation as part of the sales process. I have always made efforts to supplement the focus of procurement managers on other projects, which can sometimes distract them from observing the energy market in detail, by providing all the relevant details for a fair and informed decision.”

Some of the industrial consumers, which are subsidiaries of international groups and own factories in Romania, already have such consultants, all of them international companies, with no dedicated local offices. In these situations, advice is most often provided directly from headquarters in Germany, Belgium or Hungary. The intentions of international companies to standardize energy procurement strategies could not be materialized, both due to the specificity of local markets and to the lack of dedicated specialists to translate and adapt the local context of electricity and gas markets.

“The general and effective way of functioning of the Romanian markets is particular. However, the implementation of global procedures, whether for procurement or management, should not be abandoned, but it should be assumed that in the first phase the implementation will be partial, locally adapted, and then – depending on market developments – it will reach a degree of 100% fulfillment. I am confident that we will be able to increase the degree of implementation, through detailed knowledge of local mechanisms and I hope that this will contribute to the evolution of Romanian energy markets, actively involving industrial consumers, and not just traditional energy companies.”

Watching the recent developments in local markets, the founding partner of partner-i considers they are favorable for boosting global products and approaches. He considers that the recent legislative and regulatory changes are balanced, but points out that if some of them are not managed properly, industrial consumers may feel additional pressure. The reintroduction of PPAs, quantitative flexibility and price indexation for wholesale transactions, Gas Release Program provisions, the introduction of 15-minute settlement and recent changes in the balancing spectrum are the main market elements identified by Theodor Livinschi. In addition, there is the desire of industrial consumers to be more actively and directly involved in the actual process of purchasing the two categories of energy commodities, both amid increasing pressure from ever rising costs and as part of global approach plans.

“We do not intend in any case to transfer the pressure of costs from industrial consumers to suppliers, because we are aware that stable and predictable partnerships can only be developed through full mutual agreement and mutual benefit. However, we intend to release this pressure, in the interest of our partners, the industrial consumers, by means of an equitable approach of some products and purchasing mechanisms seldomly used so far in Romania and by transferring expertise”, explains Theodor Livinschi.

Hiring a specialist consultant is cost-effective and appropriate for industrial consumers with an annual volume of electricity consumed between 10,000-500,000 MWh, considers the founder of partner-i. Above this limit, potential partners have specialized personnel dedicated to electricity and natural gas.