The Supervisory Board of Transelectrica yesterday decided to replace Executive General Manager Andrei Benghea Mălăieş, information which BURSA published exclusively in its online edition. As a result, the position will be held by Gheorghe Ştefan, who until this time served as interim general manager at Hidroelectrica.

This makes him the fifth general interim manager of Transelectrica in a year and a few months, even though the selection of the professional managers and administrators is set to begin shortly.

Sources close to the situation say that Andrei Benghea Mălăieş was replaced by the Supervisory Board due to his problems in communicating with the unions, which are currently threatening a general strike. These sources are saying that Gheorghe Ştefan was selected for his experience in the energy sector.

Other sources from within the company are saying that the inability of Benghea to communicate with the unions is just an excuse, because the PNL and PSD have battled each for gaining control of the company. Moreover, Mr. Benghea was going to present a new staff structure and has proposed a program of voluntary departures. There is no official reason for the replacement of Andrei Benghea Mălăieş.

Mr. Mălăieş declined to comment the rumors on his departure and told us: "The Supervisory Board has considered that it was in the company's best interest for this change to happen. I hope that the projects which began during the time I managed Transelectrica will continue because they bring added value to the company".

Mr. Mălăieş listed among his accomplishments in his brief tenure the fundamentation of the transport tariffs and the achieving of a 13% tariff increase, Romania's joining of the regional project of the energy markets in Czech Republic - Slovakia - Hungary and the beginning of the talks with the ANRE for the certification of Tran