The growth in turnover was both due to increased consumption from individual customers and also to captive industrial customers (companies that pay the same price as the general population), after the company gained some major eligible clients (clients that negotiate their own power contracts).

There is a simple explanation for the rising consumption on the captive segment: the soaring number of malls and supermarkets, doubled by the population's improved incomes, which allow buying home appliances that use electricity.

"(...) Compared with last year, I believe we'll sell 7-8% more energy, compared to the 5% increase posted in 2007. At any rate, I don't believe we'll see such increases in the future," says Cristian Secosan, general manager with E.ON Moldova Furnizare.

The company was set up last year following the break-up of Electrica Moldova into two distinct companies depending on activity areas. In the first complete year of activity, Secosan says the company's turnover will revolve around 1.3bn RON, up 10% from last year. He states the increase will be partly supported by the fact that the protocol for CFR (National Railway Company) debt rescheduling was signed. CFR's entire debt to energy suppliers revolves around 1bn RON, of which around 85m RON has to be paid to E.ON Moldova Furnizare.

The company last year supplied around 3.2 TWh, of which around 0.45 TWh went to eligible consumers, with the rest going to the regulated segment. "This year, I believe we'll hit 0.55 TWh consumption on the eligible segment, with the total quantity we estimate for 2008 to stand at 3.5 TWh. We could have reached a higher level, but the effect of Chimcomplex' takeover is visible only for nine months of this year (...)," says Secosan.

One of the biggest clients any energy trader in Romania would like to do business with is Austria's Voestalpine complex