The need to speed up the major privatisations as the only way to ensure survival of a large part of the current energy system was one of the main issues discussed during the "Energy in a new era - the era of private investors" organised by ZIARUL FINACIAR in partnership with Schoenherr law firm, Italy's Enel energy group and petroleum group Rompetrol.
"The electrical power sector will be extremely open to participation from Romanian and foreign investors. We do not discriminate against either of the two categories," stated Varujan Vosganian, Economy and Finance Minister.
He said the next step Romania should take was to become an investor on foreign markets.
"Several Romanian companies, such as Transelectrica, Transgaz and Romgaz Medias are ready to make investments abroad. I don't have this fetish of believing that foreign investors are better than Romanian investors, nor am I suspicious of Romanian investors. Romania has potential in the energy sector and there are important projects in the Caspian Sea area and in the East where Romanian companies can get involved," Vosganian added.
The minister believes that there are also certain structures that should remain in the portfolio of the state such as Nuclearelectrica.
Participants in the seminar who backed this idea included Matteo Codazzi, CEO and national manager of Enel Romania, Guenther Schubert, general manager of E.ON Moldova and Adrian Borotea, corporate affairs manager of CEZ Romania.
"There is no way we can talk about real competition on this market since the entire production is concentrated in the hands of the state for the time being," stated Guenther Schubert, E.ON representative.The German group has announced plans to invest in the thermoelectric power stations in the area serviced by E.ON Moldova. The effect of delayed privatisation actually leads to a mere theoretical deregulation of the market, felt those attending the ZF seminar.
"We are pretending that we have deregulated the electricity market. Production belongs to the same producer. There is no deregulated market, there is corruption. The state is a producer of electricity and some pretend they are trading. As long as Romania fails to privatise the electrical power sector rapidly, through the stock market and through open, transparent and fast tenders, we do not stand a chance of making any progress whatsoever," said Dinu Patriciu, Rompetrol group chairman.
He explained that Romania has a few cards up its sleeve that it was failing to use, mainly because of bureaucratic inertia and political apathy, with all sorts of arguments being invented to avoid privatisation of the energy sector.
"We should be thinking how, in an age of private investment, the private sector can address energy-related issues (...). The entire energy system has to be privatised. It cannot remain in the hands of a corrupt and ineffective bureaucracy," Patriciu said.
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