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Econ Min Official Confirms Annulment Of Romania’s Pwr Holding Setup

Romanian Economy Ministry will draw up an emergency ordinance to annul the national power holding setup, Tudor Serban, state secretary within the ministry, told MEDIAFAX on Wednesday.
Econ Min Official Confirms Annulment Of Romania's Pwr Holding Setup
14 ian. 2009, 17:31, English

Last October, the former Romanian government issued an emergency ordinance to establish the national power holding, including Romanian state-owned power grid Electrica, state-run hydropower generator Hidroelectrica and thermal power producers Turceni and Rovinari.
 
Serban added that each of the companies that formed the power holding would remain under Economy Ministry’s ownership.
 
Sources within the Economy Ministry said Wednesday that the project was not backed by any of the two ruling parties, the Democratic Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party.
 
"It is a very bad idea, it is a step backwards. It’s a pity that this way, Romania loses the chance to be a regional energy power. All these companies shortly risk to be taken over by foreign competitors, thus Romania will lose control over electricity production," Teodor Atanasiu, former head of Romania’s Privatization Authority AVAS, told Mediafax.
 
AVAS is the former majority shareholder of Electrica and the two thermal power producers Turceni and Rovinari. But the emergency ordinance that moved the companies from the Economy Minister into AVAS’ portfolio was also annulled by the current ruling coalition.
 
The holding setup also needed the approval of the Competition Council, as it gathered 50% of the country’s electricity production, but no approval was issued.
 
Economy Minister Adriean Videanu said in December that they would not give up the power holding plan, but it will be transferred from the Privatization Authority AVAS to the Economy Ministry.