♦ The diversification of energy production remains one of Hidroelectrica’s major objectives in the long term, especially after last year’s drought ♦ Along with investments in new green sources, the modernization of the unrepeatable portfolio of assets that the company manages is a strategic direction ♦ Here, however, there are many challenges, one of which is even the identification of local companies that can still manage such projects.
«It was a year of investments last year and this year we will continue this route in which we rely heavily on investments, both in existing assets, and here the refurbishment program has gained a very large scale, but also in new projects. There are projects prepared for years that reach maturity and enter the execution phase», said Bogdan Badea, CEO of Hidroelectrica, in his intervention at the ZF Power Summit 2026, an event that took place during February 23-25. Hidroelectrica (H2O), the largest company in Romania by market capitalization, reported a net profit of 3.3 billion lei in 2025, down 20% compared to 2024, against the backdrop of a year marked by severe drought and the lowest hydropower production in Romania’s history. Revenues were 9.61 billion lei, plus 5%. According to the preliminary annual report, «in 2025, the lowest hydropower production in the history of Romania was recorded», in the context of unfavorable hydrological conditions, which significantly affected the volumes available for sale.
«Last year was a year with extreme drought, comparable to the year in which Hidroelectrica, unfortunately, went into insolvency. As such, we had to use water resources very carefully, so that we were also prepared for winter. And it was seen that when the energy system needed it, Hidroelectrica intervened promptly to balance and cover consumption peaks.» Returning to investments, part of the company’s budget goes to the area of major renovations, but the projects are often hampered by the approval chain. «The unseen part is the bureaucratic one, in which we have to get opinions, get authorizations and, unfortunately, in recent years, this process takes longer than the actual execution. We have the example of Vidraru, which generated a lot of passion, but it is an investment prepared since 2016, with a lot of acquisition procedures that, unfortunately, were not completed successfully. We managed to sign the contract and yet let’s enter the renovation program. There, the works are according to the schedule.» Furthermore, units with advanced degrees of completion are also blocked by various NGOs.
Bogdan Badea, Hidroelectrica CEO: We are convinced that the CAPEX peaks that we will have in the coming years will be covered with cheap financing and that will allow us to keep the policy of dividends to investors and increase the volume of investments.
The realization of these investments is all the more necessary as the architecture of the entire energy system is changing against the background of the rise of renewable technologies. «We must have flexibility in the energy system and that is why it is very important to understand the context in which we are. It is a context in which we have a lot of installations, especially in photovoltaic energy. I am not and will never be a fan of cannibalization between technologies, no. There is room for all technologies, it is important that there is a balance between them.» For Hidroelectrica, which has also become the largest local energy supplier, the rise of renewables brings more opportunities. On the one hand, the company can make purchases at an advantageous price, and on the other hand, it earns from the balancing services it delivers. Badea also said the company’s investment budget will increase. «The big challenge we have as a company is to identify enough partners who can carry out complex investments, like Vidraru, and here it is not a very easy matter. There are not many specialized partners at the European level who can do this. Of course, to cover all this volume of investments, financing will also be needed. Hidroelectrica today has a very low level of debt, which allows us to attract capital from the market at very competitive prices. We are convinced that the peaks of CAPEX that we will have in the coming years will be covered with cheap financing and that will allow us to keep the policy of dividends to investors and increase the volume of investments.»