The bank has quite big plans as regards the domestic energy market given that it is mulling several electricity production projects and counts on a double level of energy deals against last year. More precisely, on 0.5 TWh, meaning turnover worth some 25m euros taking into account the average prices at which energy is currently trading domestically.
The bank entered the domestic energy market this July, when the joint venture between RBS and Sempra Energy, a company holding a supply licence in Romania since April 2007, was concluded. Sempra Energy is an integrated utility firm from California dealing on the domestic energy market since 2004, with the deals being exclusively based on imports. The new company will be called RBS Sempra Energy Europe.
Besides plans related to boosting quantities of traded energy, RBS is also in talks for electricity production and is currently considering several projects.
"We're in talks with several investors for 2-3 energy generation projects. These are not large projects. At any rate, they will be developed in partnership with other investors as our experience does not entail the operation of energy production facilities," explains Tudor Cirstea, head advisor for Romania of RBS Sempra Energy Europe.
The company does not have any final clients in its portfolio, yet, but does not rule out this possibility once it develops domestically. "(...) We believe our business in Romania will witness a significant development once the market is more fully deregulated, which I believe will happen in 2010-2011 with the emergence of the first energy quantities resulting from production facilities that are not under the control of the Romanian state," specified Cirstea.
Other factors the opening up of the Romanian market depends on include the development of OPCOM as a real energy exchange, as well as the impact the form
