Effective October 2026, Hidroelectrica will adjust the price of active energy for new customers and for contracts reaching maturity from RON 0.45/kWh to RON 0.515/kWh.
While this adjustment marks a roughly 13% increase in active energy prices, it still sits below the cumulative inflation built up since Hidroelectrica last modified its pricing. The final price impact is estimated at around 7%, varying by distribution region.
Indiscriminate rising in costs, fuel price developments, and poor hydrological conditions, which reduced water availability and hydro output, all had a bearing on the Company's performance during this time.
A hydrological deficit emerged in April 2026 and deepened in June, leaving river flows across almost all major power plants at less than half of their multi-year averages.
The monthly average inflow trends on the Danube clearly illustrate the challenge, especially since the Iron Gates facility generates roughly 40% of Hidroelectrica's total output. This left July and August flow rates at just 39.7% and 36.1% of their multi-year averages, respectively. At present, flow rates remain pinned at historic lows of under 1,400 cubic m/s.
Furthermore, a regulatory adjustment to the contribution mechanism for the electricity generated by Hidroelectrica drove a 7.32% spike in turbined water costs, which climbed from RON 37/MWh up to RON 39.71/MWh in June 2026.
Meanwhile, wholesale electricity prices went up, too. In both Q4 2026 and Q1 2027, trading prices of baseload energy have surged to approximately RON 900/MWh.
Despite these mounting pressures, Hidroelectrica opted to cap the price adjustment to maintain a highly competitive offering for its domestic consumers.
With a share of approximately 20% of the household supply market, Hidroelectrica holds a significant position in today's Romanian energy market. Its leading position and large customer also base bring about a major responsibility: to strike and maintain a balance between the sustainability of the Company's business and an affordable, competitive options for consumers.
"We sought to make this a balanced and responsible adjustment. In recent years, Hidroelectrica cushioned a major part of the rising cost burden to keep pricing highly competitive for our customers. Today, we are navigating a conjunction of objective market forces: inflation, rising operating and fuel costs, adverse hydrological conditions, and high energy prices on the wholesale market. Still, we made a deliberate choice to keep our offering as favorable as possible for consumers. For us, being competitive isn't simply about offering a low price today; it is about our capacity to provide consumers with fair, sustainable energy pricing in the long run," said Iulius-Dan Plaveti, CEO of Hidroelectrica.
Importantly, the new price applies only to new customers and contract renewals, carrying no retroactive effect whatsoever.
Even with this adjustment, the Company stands by its goal to deliver among the most competitive electricity offering for Romanian households, proving that customer interest is a key criterion in shaping Hidroelectrica's commercial policy.