E.ON Asks Romania’s Energy Watchdog For Gas, Electricity Price Hikes

Germany’s E.ON, which activates on the Romanian natural gas and power distribution market, asked the country's energy regulatory authority ANRE to increase gas and electricity prices in 2010 by 15% and 12% respectively, but does not anticipate a favorable answer.

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E.ON expects to reach an agreeement with ANRE that would be advantageous for everybody, E.ON Romania's general manager Frank Hajdinjak told a news conference Wednesday.

"Keeping the current prices would not be a fair compromise, in my opinion," he said.

Over the past years, the German group said it registered losses of 700 million lei (EUR1=RON4.2459) on the gas segment and RON80 million on electricity, amounts that might be recovered only by raising prices.

However, the company acknowledges that the price increases it asks for are unrealistic given the current conditions and it will not obtain them, Hajdinjak added.

But the group is trying to convince the authority to keep its promise as regards profit margins, to allow electricity and gas distributors to cut their losses.

In 2005, E.ON bought state-owned electricity producer Electrica Moldova and gas distributor Distrigaz Nord.

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