Romanian coal and power group CE Oltenia, which seeks state aid to restructure its activity and phase out coal use, said that it signed a memorandum of understanding with local aluminum producer Alro to sell electricity after it completes new gas-fired units (in 2026), Economica.net reported.

CE Oltenia seeks to demonstrate the viability of its restructuring strategy, currently under review by the European Commission.

The EC's preliminary conclusion was that the Romanian group's strategy stands little chance to be in line with the state aid regulations - mainly because of the lack of support from other stakeholders (private shareholders, creditors, banks).

CE Oltenia tried to address some of the EC's concerns by approaching Fondul Proprietatea (its sole private shareholder) and several banks for financing and attempting to reach long-term agreements with potential customers.

The company is running out of time, though, as it needs to buy a significant amount of emission certificates by the end of April.

Under a scenario circulated recently, CE Oltenia may seek to "borrow" such CO2 certificates from companies that have them in excess and buy them later. However, the risks are high, since the certificates' price is likely to keep rising as the EU pushes for accelerated decarbonization.

(Photo: Complexul Energetic Oltenia Facebook Page)

iulian@romania-insider.com