Romania has selected Czech utility CEZ to upgrade and expand its Galati power plant, while Belgian Electrabel has been chosen to build a 400-500 MW station in Borzesti, Romanian state-run power company Termoelectrica confirmed to ICIS Heren on Wednesday (24th September).
Termoelectrica’s general director Ioan Ungureanu said the company will now start negotiations with both firms, with a view to signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in three or four weeks.
Ungureanu added that Termoelectrica was planning to keep a minority stake in the project, but that the exact amount of the shares is yet to be determined. Termoelectrica currently holds 100% of the 535 MW Galati plant. CEZ had also taken part in the Borzesti tender, along with Eon, Enel, Iberdrola, US-American AES, and Romanian companies Romned Port Operator and Romenergo.
Earlier, the Romanian government chose Eon and Enel to build an 800 MW coal-fired plant in Braila, and signed an MOU with the two companies about the construction.
Eon told ICIS Heren it had launched a feasibility study for the project, scheduled to be completed within several months. A final investment decision will be taken based on the results of the study.
According to reports, Enel and Eon and Termoelectrica would each have the right to trade 50% of the energy produced in the Braila plant, with any profit obtained to be shared between the companies, proportional to their stake.

(THE ICIS HEREN REPORTS - EDEM 12 186 / 24 September 2008)