Romania, EC Oltenia announced that it has completed the purchase of all CO2 certificates

State-owned coal-based electricity producer Energy Complex (EC) Oltenia announced that it has completed the purchase of all CO2 certificates it was obliged to purchase on account of last year’s electricity production.

The statement from the company did not say the exact amount paid for CO2 certificates for 2021 production, but it stated that 188 million euros was paid from the company’s own funds. CO2 certificates purchase accounts for about 60 % of the company’s expenditures.

The price of CO2 certificates has significantly increased in recent years, rising from 4-5 euros/ ton in 2017 to over 90 euros/ton in February 2022.

Since the company’s establishment in June 2012, EC Oltenia has paid from its own funds over 1 billion euros for the CO2 certificates. Until 2020, the company did not receive any financial support from the state. Last month, EC Oltenia received about 500 million euros from the state for the purchase of CO2 certificates.