PRESS RELEASE

(Bucharest, 4 January, 2018)

Transactions on the Day-Ahead Market (DAM) administrated by OPCOM in December 2017 and early 2018.

Transactions on DAM were placed in the last month of the year 2017 at an hourly average of over 2,750 MWh/h, the equivalent of a market share out of the domestic consumption of about 40%, given that more than 275 participants submitted daily offers in the trading platform.

The average price of the transactions set on this market in December 2017, down 33% compared to the previous month, from 256.63 lei/MWh (55.46 EUR/MWh) in November 2017 to 170.92 lei/MWh (36.87 EUR/MWh) in the month under review, was within the range of the monthly average prices set in European spot markets, established between 30 EUR/MWh and 66 EUR/MWh, 20 percent lower than the European average determined at approximately 46 EUR/MWh.

The average price at which transactions were set in December 2017 registered a variation of approximately 12% compared to the corresponding value of the previous year, dropping from 194.45 lei/MWh (43.05 EUR/MWh) in December 2016 to 170.92 lei/MWh (36.87 EUR/MWh) in December 2017. The same downward trend of the price was maintained for the first days of 2018, compared to the equivalent period of the previous year, the average price of the transactions established on DAM being 100.08 lei/MWh (21.48 EUR/MWh), 54% lower than the 217.11 lei/MWh (47.81 EUR/MWh) value set in early 2017.

At the level of December 2017, the maximum price, 487.32 lei/MWh (104.98 EUR/MWh), was set in the 18th hourly interval of December 4, while the minimum hourly price of the month, 0.45 lei/MWh (0.10 EUR/MWh), was recorded in the 5th hourly interval of December 25. The variable nature of the electricity fundamental data (production, consumption, electricity transportation, including planned/unplanned unavailability of some production units and distribution and/or transport installations), as well as the presence of extreme meteorological phenomena such as extreme temperatures, a hydraulicity level that deviates at certain times from a long-term forecasted profile or other relevant and determinant factors at different times, are elements that cause wholesale electricity prices to be more volatile in the short term.

For the entire month, the number of participants who submitted at least one offer was 305, representing in relative values 80% of the 380 companies registered at the Day-Ahead Market at the end of the year 2017. The interest for the day ahead transactions materialized in hourly commitments, which, analyzed at the level of the whole month, varied between 1,762 MWh/h and 3,780 MWh/h, the volatility of the traded quantities being determined by the participants intentions of balancing their positions in the market.

The value of the electricity traded on the Day-Ahead Market in December 2017 amounted to 372.02 million lei (80.26 million EUR).On the day-ahead markets that are operating coupled with DAM administrated by OPCOM since November 2014, the average prices for December 2017 were 40.02 EUR/MWh (HUPX), 33.23 EUR/MWh (OKTE) and 32.89 EUR/MWh (OTE).

PRESS RELEASE 4.1.2018