Meeting between Ioan Codrut Seres, the Minister of Economy and Commerce and Torger Lien, President and CEO of Nord Pool

(Bucharest, 1.06.2005) During a short visit in Romania, Mr. Torger Lien, President and CEO of Nord Pool power exchange met the Minister of Economy and Commerce, Mr. Ioan Codrut Seres. The visit agenda included SC OPCOM SA, the National Dispatch Centre and CN Transelectrica SA.

Wednesday 1st of June, the Minister for Economy and Commerce, Ioan Codrut Seres met Torger Lien, President and CEO of Nord Pool ASA, the Scandinavian power exchange.
Nord Pool ASA represents the electricity marketplace for spot trading in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark and for derivatives trading on financial market, being considered as the most efficient power exchange in the world. Also Nord Pool ASA is the only regional power exchange in the world. The traded volume on the physical market varies around 30% of the four countries electricity consumption and the traded volume in the financial market is even much larger. The Nord Pool clearing house ensures reliable conditions for the settlement of the financial market trading and for OTC’s. Besides these services, Nord Pool is providing a consistent reference price to the wholesale and retail markets.
During the last year, Nord Pool Consulting, the subsidiary of Nord Pool ASA delivered technical assistance to SC OPCOM SA, the electricity market operator in Romania, in order to implement the mechanisms of a new trading platform, including IT systems, procedures and agreements, market surveillance, as well as the staff training and OPCOM’s management assistance.
The financial support of this consultancy is ensured through the World Bank loan having as borrower CN Transelectrica SA, the Romanian TSO which subsidiary OPCOM is.
At this meeting participated Jan Vidar Thoresen, President of Nord Pool Consulting, Cristian Istodorescu, General Director for International Economic Cooperation, Synthesis and Investment within the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Nicolae Opris, President of the Romanian Electricity Regulatory Authority, Ion Merfu, CEO of CN Transelectrica SA and Victor Ionescu, CEO of SC OPCOM SA. Previously, the president of Nord Pool had discussions with the management of Transelectrica and OPCOM and visited the National Dispatch Centre and the Electricity Market Operator.
During the meeting the specific aspects of the national energy system and the results of the electricity trading liberalization in Romania were overviewed, on the background of the Romania’s access in the European Union. The consequences of Romania’s reconnection to UCTE were analyzed, also the opportunities that ECSEE development is offering to the economic agents from the electricity sector, this process’ challenges that as the Minister underlined, the market participants have to properly respond.
The Minister for Economy and Commerce Ioan Codrut Seres expressed his interest for the results of the technical assistance delivered by Nord Pool Consulting mentioning the special role that OPCOM has to play as national power exchange but also focusing on the regional dimension that the OPCOM’s development has to approach.
The President of Nord Pool formulated a positive assessment regarding the OPCOM professional performance and also regarding the stage of the institutional development, also expressing the openness of the power exchange he’s managing to enhance the existing cooperation framework. Suitable ways for cooperation and partnership were proposed.
The largest framework of the meeting is defined by the cooperation agreement between the homologue Ministries of Romania and Norway, as well as by the expressed intention of Romania to establish the regional trading centre in Bucharest.