​The capital’s mayor, Nikusor Dan, responded Thursday to criticism from Marcel Çolaku, saying he is asking the PSD leader to call Finance Minister Adrian Cachiu to resolve the outstanding debt for Termoenergetica. A day ago, Marcel Colaku sent the mayor of the capital to “lend Mrs. Clotilde” the money needed by the municipality to pay off the debts accumulated in Termoenergetica.

• “The competition of metaphors will take place in a year and a half, during the election campaign.
• I ask Mr. Čolak to call Mr. Cachiu, the Minister of Finance, so that we can resolve the issue of outstanding debt for Termoenergetica.
• All future investments that we have to make in the distribution and transportation of the heating agent depend on the resolution of the financial situation of Termoenergetica, on the exit of Elcen from bankruptcy,” Nikushor Dan said on Thursday.

When asked when Elcen will declare bankruptcy if the money from the government does not come, Nikušor Dan said that he does not want to talk about this scenario: “I think that in the end we are responsible people (…) We, Bucharest have so much apartments in the centralized system, as many as all other settlements together, and they were given 800 million, we were given 15 or 20 million.”

Marcel Cholaku after Nikushor Dan asked the government for money: “Let Mrs. Clotilde borrow it”

After Nikushor Dan asked the government to allocate the necessary money to the municipality to pay off the debts accumulated at Termoenergetica, the PSD leader responded ironically by wishing him “further success”.

“The prime minister did not ask me about this. But I know that the general mayor of the capital solved all the problems. I wish him continued success. I feel sorry for the people of Bucharest that such a calamity has fallen on their heads for Nikušor Dan to become the general mayor of the capital,” Nikušor Dan said on Wednesday.

When asked about the fact that Gabriela Firea, when she was mayor, asked the government to get money for heating, Çolaku said: “The same answer. I don’t know about Genmeria’s surplus, I know about 1 sector, I was more careful, it’s an extraordinary surplus. Borrow Mr. Nicusor Dan, Mrs. Clotilde.’

Thermal energy, one step away from enforcement

Last week, HotNews.ro wrote that ELCEN received three lawsuits in court against Termoenergetica, a hot water and heat supplier in Bucharest, for debts of 535 million lei.

Thus, ELCEN can at any time block the accounts of “Thermoenergetika”, which may lead to the insolvency of “Stolichna Meriya” company. Thermoenergetics has a total of almost 800 million lei of debt to ELCEN.

Sources from ELCEN contacted by HotNews.ro said that they will try to stretch the debts so as not to block the accounts, but the financial situation of the capital city hall is not rosy at all. More precisely, the subsidy approved and provided for in the budget of the capital city hall is 1 billion lei, and the required amount is almost 2 billion, in the context of the increase of about 27% of the price per gigacalorie a few days ago, recently approved by ANRE for ELCEN.

In a letter sent by Termoenergetica to the capital’s mayor’s office and general councils, the company draws attention to the fact that enforcement and entering bankruptcy will lead to problems with Bucharest’s heating supply in the middle of winter. Heat energy also needs intervention at the state level.

• “We want to draw attention to the extremely critical situation in which Compania Termoenergetica is in, there is a risk that in the next period enforcement proceedings will be initiated against the company and, as a result, it will enter a state of insolvency, jeopardizing the work of the public heating service of the Municipality of Bucharest in the middle of the cold season.
• We want to draw attention to the need for intervention at the governmental level in the context that PMB does not have the financial resources to support the operation of the Centralized Heating System of Bucharest for the winter season of 2022 – 2023, in order to avoid the negative consequences of the impossibility of providing heating agent during this winter”, – it says a letter sent by Termoenergetica to the capital’s mayor’s office and general councilors, obtained by HotNews.ro.

More specifically, ELCEN has taken legal action to collect from Termoenergetica debts of 535 million lei related to consumption in March-May 2022 and obtained payment orders, which are executive documents.

The representatives of Termoenergetica say that they have accumulated debts to ELCEN of about 800 million lei due to the fact that the city hall did not pay the subsidy that would have covered the difference between the price approved by ANRE and the one paid by the population and losses in the network, i.e. hot water , which flows into the ground.

In a letter sent by Termoenergetica to the municipality, it is stated that these debts consist of:

• about 140 million lei of subsidy arrears for April-September 2022;
• subscribed and unpaid social capital of 36 million lei;
• network losses in the period 2020-2022 – 553 million lei (for 2020 – 128 million lei, 2021 – 240 million lei, and the rest is estimated for 2022). The energy balances for 2020 and 2021 have been approved, so the losses are recognized, but there is no decision of the General Council by which the PMB actually recognizes the payment of these losses.

In addition, Termoenergetica representatives say that the subsidy of about 1 billion lei approved for 2022 is not enough, since the need is about 1.47 billion lei, and after the increase in the price per gigacalorie recently approved by ANRE by about 27%, the need would amount to about 1.9 billion lei so that the price for the population does not increase.

• “During the meeting of the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest on 03/07/2022, the PMB budget for 2022 was approved, where the amount of 987,882.00 thousand lei and a tariff lower than the budget level in 2021 and is significantly lower than the requirements for 2022, taking into account the new tariffs applied by the company and the price increase for thermal energy produced by operators in the ANRE regulatory zone, respectively the amount of 1,470,000 lei, including the VAT rate. (…)
• At the same time, we draw your attention to the fact that the financial condition of the company will deteriorate in the next period in the context in which, starting from 01.11.2022, NARE, by its Regulation No. 1899, 1917 and 1924 of 21.10.2022, changed the prices of the purchase of thermal energy from the suppliers: ELCEN, Cet Griviţa SRL and Vest Energo SA and will lead to a significant increase in the total price of heat energy supply.
• A direct consequence of ANRE’s decisions to increase tariffs for the purchase of thermal energy from the producer is an increase in the compensatory component that PMB must support from the budget of this institution in conditions where even the current level of subsidy is not uniform. that PMB to be able to defend it. The impact of the tariff increase as a result of ANRE decisions is the main one in the budget of PMB before the competition in the amount of 1,920,000 thousand lei, PMB is not able to financially support this level of compensation for the price difference”, the letter also states.

According to Termoenergetica’s financial forecasts, the estimated cash flow deficit at the end of December 2022 totals 1,096,000 lei.

Mayor General Nikushor Dan has been asking the government for 1 billion lei for thermal power since the beginning of the year, but has not received anything yet. The City Hall also did not receive an increase in debt to borrow from the market to solve the problem.