February 3 (SeeNews) - Romanian electricity and heating utility Electrocentrale Bucuresti (ELCEN) said that it exited insolvency on February 2, after a Bucharest court ruled to close insolvency proceedings started in 2016.
ELCEN has fully covered its payment obligations under its reorganization plan and paid current due debt, it said in a social media post on Thursday.
The company's exit from insolvency paves the way towards accessing non-refundable European funds or other financing from national and international institutions to increase the efficiency of its cogeneration plants (CETs).
In the coming period, ELCEN plans to focus on the implementation of major investment projects, such as the construction of new high-efficiency CETs.
Among others, ELCEN plans to build a high-efficiency cogeneration plant within CET Bucuresti Sud, with a gross electrical power capacity of roughly 600 Mwe. Expected to deliver some 376 Gcal/h of thermal energy, the plant will initially run on natural gas and will later use a blend of natural gas and hydrogen.
ELCEN also aims to modernise and boost the efficiency of its four cogeneration plants, which have an installed power capacity of 586.2 MW.
In addition, the company plans to install photovoltaic panels on its premises in order to produce renewable energy.
In November 2022, the Romanian government increased Bucharest municipality's debt ceiling by 500 million lei ($112 million/102 million euro) so that Termoenergetica, the company managing Bucharest's heating network, could pay its debt towards Elcen. A month later, the Bucharest municipality repaid the 500 million lei debt owed to Termoenergetica.
Established in 2002, Elcen produces 40% of Romania’s and 90% of Bucharest’s thermal energy, according to its website. The Romanian state holds a 97.51% stake in the company through the energy ministry. In 2021, Elcen booked a net profit of 412.9 million lei on a turnover of 2.7 billion lei.
(1 euro=4.9005 lei)