Minister Borc: The Oltenia Energy Holding will not shut down

Romania’s Oltenia Energy Holding (CEO), which controls coal mines and generates electricity, will not be closed down, according to the minister of economy Costin Borc.

The official is trying to reassure miners, who fear they might lose their jobs. The company has posted combined losses of over RON 1.5 billion in 2014 and 2015. In March, the energy producer has rolled out a cost-cutting plan which includes the reduction of mining and energy production through to June.

Minister Borc has been trying to reassure several hundred workers at CEO who travelled over 300 km on foot from Targu Jiu to Bucharest. They staged a protest in front of the Government building.

The protestors had vented their anger at the renewable sector, claiming that green energy producers were receiving incentives, which meant they could sell electricity at a cheaper price compared to fossil fuel producers.

“I think it is important they have alarmed us regarding the state of the national energy system, as the main issues of the large producers in this system have been neglected for year,” said Borc. He added that the restructuring of the coal-based electricity producer has to be done “with respect for the people”.

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More than 600 employees of CEO were sent into technical unemployment by June, due to low demand for coal this period of the year.

The Oltenia Energy Complex saw its losses grow by 30 percent to 895 million in 2015.

Ovidiu Posirca