S.C. Electrica SA faces 'competition' (5th May 2000) Copyright (c) 2000 i-K@n Solutions Ltd, UK - All rights reserved Three new companies have been awarded electricity supply licences by the National Electricity Regulatory Authority (ANRE) in April. ALRO Slatina, Grivco Energy and EMD Trading 2000 Ltd are already independent power producers in Romania, and they need these licences to supply their own units using the domestic electricity grid. ALRO Slatina requires electricity to power an aluminium factory, while Grivco Energy has acquired the licence in preparation for a planned acquisition of a Romanian power plant (it is unclear which power plant they have in mind). EMD Trading 2000 Ltd was formerly known as DUNAV, a company that exported electricity to Serbia. This is an important first step towards competition: up to now, S.C. Electrica SA (a wholly owned subsidiary of state electricity company CONEL, reponsible for transport and distribution) has been unique in having a supply licence. Romania produced just over 50 billion kwh of electricity in 1999, according to government statistics.