Mihai David, Hidroelectrica's general manager, had a tense exchange with a representative of Petrom yesterday, culminating in the "Let's not turn Romania into the OMV Republic" line. Such exchanges between Romanian and foreign company representatives had never been seen before.
The reaction of David, who holds a key position in the reorganisation process of the national energy system, as head of one of the two state-owned giants, Hidroenergetica, came as a result of statements made by a representative of Petrom during a Mediafax conference on energy.
Razvan Nicolescu, Petrom's corporate affairs director, that is the official in charge of the company's image and relations with the authorities, had said the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) shared headquarters with Hidroelectrica, which was not appropriate, considering the authority should be independent.
The exchange between the representatives of a state-owned company and of a foreign energy company is the first to have ever happened during an official event.
Moreover, David's statements come at a time when the Romanian state's strategy about privatisations has radically changed.
Over the last few years and especially because of the crisis, the Romanian state has moved from the privatisation of energy complexes and the sale of hydropower plants to the concept of "national champions", powerful structures capable of taking on their 'peers' in the developed economies on equal footing, even though the state has yet to show it can create such champions.
Mihai David, Hidroelectrica's general manager, had a tense exchange with a representative of Petrom yesterday, culminating in the "Let's not turn Romania into the OMV Republic" line. Such exchanges between Romanian and foreign company representatives had never been seen before.
The reaction of David, who holds a key positio
