Enel to sell Romanian assets next year

The decision is part of the group's long-term streamlining strategy, it said in its strategic plan for the 2023-2025 period published on its website.

In Latin America, the group plans to exit Peru and Argentina.

In 2022, the deployment of the group’s simplification strategy accelerated significantly, with the sale of Enel Russia and of the Fortaleza CCGT plant in Brazil and the expected sale of transmission assets in Chile, of the distribution grids in Goiás, as well as with the Gridspertise deal, Enel said. Also, by the end of 2022, the group is planning to crystallize the value of its gas portfolio in Chile.

"Following the aforementioned acceleration, in 2023-2025 the group foresees a further streamlining of its structure, by exiting some businesses and geographies no longer aligned with its strategy. The group also expects to continue to leverage on its Stewardship model in non-core countries," Enel said. "In addition, and in line with the aim to exit carbon-intensive activities, the group plans to leverage on the current market environment to initiate the exit from gas assets. This overall divestment programme is an integral component of the plan to reshape the group, maximizing shareholder value."

By 2025, the group expects to manage a total of around 75 GW of renewable capacity, including 4 GW of battery energy storage systems, approximately 75% of total generation, with emission-free production reaching around 83%.

"In the next three years, we will focus on integrated business models, digital know-how as well as businesses and geographies that can add value despite the current challenging scenario, embracing a leaner structure and a more robust set of financial ratios. This will increase our resilience to potential future continued turbulence, as well as position our value creation towards further growth, benefitting all our stakeholders and accelerating energy independence in our core countries," Enel CEO Francesco Starace said.

In Romania, Enel operates on the supply segment through Enel Energie si Enel Energie Muntenia, on the distribution segment through E-Distributie Banat, E-Distributie Dobrogea and E-Distributie Muntenia and on the production segment, through Enel Green Power Romania.

The group serves about three million customers and employs 3,100 in locally.

In August, the Italian group lent 375 million euro ($384 million) to its Romanian units Enel Energie and Enel Energie Muntenia to cover their financing needs in the context of rising electricity prices and state subsidies scheme for final consumers, Fondul Proprietatea, a shareholder in the two units, said at the time.

In November, Romania's government approved an emergency decree partially regulating the energy market by enforcing a centralised mechanism for the purchase of electricity and capping the selling price at 450 lei ($91.5/92 euro) per MWh from January 1 2023 until March 31 2025.

In September, the government announced it has extended the scheme capping energy prices for households and some small companies by five months, until end-August 2023.

(1 euro=4.9417 lei)