The Italians from ENEL are leaving Romania as part of a global business restructuring program

By RBJ
The Italian group Enel, present in Romania in the electricity distribution, supply and production segment, intends to exit the Romanian market in 2023. “Exit from Romania” is written in the presentation at the company’s annual event, “Capital Markets Day”. The exit is part of the group’s strategic repositioning strategy, determined by the losses recorded in certain business segments.
The reason why Enel made the decision to leave Romania is not the legal framework, but the fact that it has reached a position from where it can no longer grow, said Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel, in a press conference on Tuesday.
“We decided to exit Romania because we have reached a point where it is difficult to obtain additional growth in the future. We have “saturated” the space for investments in networks and have reached – more or less – a position in the customer and production segment that no longer offers many opportunities for growth,” explained Starace.
He emphasized that the reason for the exit is not the legal framework.
“So the reason we are leaving is not because we don’t like the legal and regulatory framework in Romania, which is no better or worse than many others. We have seen that all European governments have taken action in the context of high gas prices across Europe. I don’t think Romania has done better or worse than others. We have to deal with this situation as best we can. But it’s not a judgment about that, just the fact that the room for further potential growth in the country is very limited,” Starace said.
According to him, it is a good time to capitalize on Romanian assets.
“One could say that it is rather a recognition of the fact that we have done a good job, that Romania has a good base, and a sale monetizes, in a good way, the value that we have created. It is a judgment positive image of Romania, a recognition of the good work done there”, said the head of the Italian company.
Enel has approximately 3,100 employees in Romania and offers services to approximately 3 million customers. E-Distribution companies operate networks with a total length of approximately 130,000 kilometers in three important areas of the country: South Muntenia (including Bucharest), Banat and Dobrogea, covering a third of the local distribution market.
Enel Energie and Enel Energie Muntenia are among the main energy providers in the country, and their offer includes both electricity and natural gas, as well as home support services.
Enel Green Power Romania is one of the largest producers of renewable energy in the country, with an installed capacity of 534 MW through its 12 wind and photovoltaic installations located in Dobrogea, Banat, Oltenia and Muntenia.
Enel X Romania is part of Enel X, Enel’s global business line dedicated to the development of innovative products and digital solutions.