Premier Victor Ponta has set up a committee that will evaluate the economic and financial situation of the electricity producer company Hidroelectrica and will present its findings to the government within a week at most, along with proposed measures aimed at improving the activity of the company, Mediafax reports. The committee comprises the ministers of Finance, Economy, Justice, and Administration and Interior. In April, the European Commission announced that it initiated five distinct probes into state aid procedures, as there are hints that Romanian authorities influenced the company into concluding contracts for the sale and purchase of energy at preferential prices. In 2011, Hidroelectrica delivered to the so-called “smart guys” energy worth RON 1.52 bln (EUR 360 M), down RON 300 M against 2010, with bilateral contracts representing half of the sales conducted by the state company last year. The total sales of the company amounted to RON 3.01 bln last year, down 7.6 pc from the RON 3.26 bln registered in 2010, reads the annual report of Hidroelectrica. Last year, the company sold electricity through direct contracts towards Alro Slatina, Elsid Titu, Energy Holding, Europec, Electromagnetica, Electrocarbon, Alpiq RomIndustries, Alpiq RomEnergie, EFT Romania, Compania Nationala a Huilei (CNH) Petrosani, CLMB-Patinoar Brasov and Societatea Nationala a Sarii (Salrom). Compared to 2010, a noteworthy absence from the list of “smart guys” is that of Swiss company EFT AG. The expression “smart guys” designates the companies that purchase energy from Hidroelectrica, at low prices, through direct acquisition contracts.
