BUCHAREST (Romania), December 30 (SeeNews) – The Bucharest municipality repaid a 500 million lei ($107.5 million/101 million euro) debt owed to Termoenergetica, the company managing the Romanian capital city’s heating network, mayor Nicusor Dan said.
The debt repayment comes as a result of the Romanian government’s increase of Bucharest municipality’s debt ceiling by 500 million lei, which allowed the municipal government to borrow the amount from Unicredit Bank Romania, Dan said in a social media post on Thursday.
The measure will enable Termoenergetica to pay its own debt owed to the state-owned thermal energy producer Elcen, which in turn will allow the two companies to access European funds for future investments, Dan said last month.
Termoenergetica is a utility company established in 2019. Its main shareholder is the Bucharest municipality. The company manages over 3,900 km of Bucharest’s heating network pipelines, according to its website. In 2021, Termoenergetica booked a loss of 240.97 million lei, on a turnover of 1.4 billion lei.
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=4.9458 lei)
