Top Channel first to denounce HPP failure

On 14 October 2010, Top-Channel published an official report, prepared by Ministry of Energy experts that were charged to supervise the concessionary agreement’s implementation.

“In the five years of its governing, the Democratic Party government has issued more than 90 concessionary agreements that predicted the construction of 220 HPPs. Until now, at least 45 of them should have finished. A decision of June 16th postponed the deadlines for 85% of the agreements. This was an obligatory solution, since most of the concessions were now illegal and if the government would implement the agreements, by undoing the contracts, it would admit failure”, Top Channel denounced.

The Prime Minister gave no official reaction on that time, while the Minister of Economy released some spontaneous declarations, promising strong supervision of the concession and punishing the abusers.

Top Channel continues to offer new facts that showed that the Hydropower Plant concessions were producing official affairs and endless investigation files, rather than energy.

“If the concessions would have respected the deadlines, the energy production in the country should have increased minimally with 1.3 billion KW/H per year, or 70 million EUR of energy each year. The lack of this energy caused the budget to lose 20 million EUR, which is equal to the pensioners’ yearly bonus payment. But the cost doesn’t come only from the missing money. The construction of these HPPs would have created new jobs in an economy that suffers high unemployment. All of these, even after five years, remain only objectives. All that they have produced as result, is a pile of files in the prosecution”, denounced Top Channel on 17 January 2011.

Some days later, during an interview for “Opinion”, the Prime Minister denied the stalemate, declaring that the investments were continuing with a high pace.

Facing an unfulfilled political challenge, the government found it difficult to admit failure.

The process that had started in 2007 was being dragged over and over, and the government kept postponing the deadlines for the companies.

Another year was needed before the Prime Minister finally admitted that dozens of companies that had won concessionary licenses for building 240 HPPs had failed with the deadlines, and he even publicly threatened them of removing the licenses.

It remains to be seen if the government is serious this time and if it is determined to resolve the stalemate that is withholding billions of KWh of energy, and hundreds of millions of EUR in our economy.

Top Channel