Invited to the InvesTenergy project “Putting People from Energy in the Light”, Mr. Corneliu Bodea answered the questions asked by journalists from www.investenergy.ro.
– Mr. Corneliu Bodea, first of all, I would like to congratulate you on the 30 years of activity of the Adrem group and to wish: Happy and prosperous years! I also congratulate your brother – Mr. Adrian Bodea. Three decades with Adrem! How did you succeed?
– Thank you for the wishes and good thoughts! All I wish now is that our country and all those who have chosen to live here live many years with prosperity, to be healthy and to have many important achievements to leave to future generations.
Why do I say this? Because in our 30 activities, together with Adrem’s partners, we have tried to bring value to society through the actions we have initiated and implemented. It has not been easy, we have gone through countless crises, legislative changes, unpredictable events and technological evolution. But what made us continue was the passion for our work and respect for people and the environment. We are committed to contributing to the modernization of the industry, developing impact projects and bringing change in the lives of the people and communities in which we operate.
– I’m convinced that there have been difficult times in these years. Have you ever wanted to give up?
– Yes, I thought about giving up, selling, or simply leaving. Disappointment, lack of prospects, despair surrounded me sometimes and I felt chased away and disrespected. Frustration torments you a bit when you try to build a business “like outside” and you are surrounded by indifference, bureaucracy and imposture. But I am very connected to these places and to the people around me, I owe them so much, that I have so far found the strength to continue, to overcome fleeting feelings and to contribute as much as I know and can. At the same time, I feel responsible towards many wonderful people who believed and still believe in me, employees, clients, or friends and towards them and our ideals, it is worth making even greater sacrifices.
– You are a well-known businessman in Romania. I would ask you to introduce yourself in a few words… What represents you? Would you like to change something about yourself?
– Romanian entrepreneur, father of two wonderful children, passionate about leadership and interpersonal intelligence. I believe in people and support their constant, personal and professional evolution. I like to get involved in the development of entrepreneurs and young talents through my participation in leadership and mentoring programs. I also want to believe that I am a strategically thinking person, a creator of a constantly evolving business environment, with a focus on social involvement, caring for people and nature.
I would like to be more lenient with myself, to devote more time to my passions: reading, surfing and enjoying quality moments with my loved ones.
– You are a company model, a family business. How do you assess the evolution of the group in these three decades, how does a Romanian business manage to resist and grow in the local business environment?
– The first 10 years are probably the most beautiful in the life of a company. It is the period full of courage, daring and exploration of a new business in the market, when the team coagulates and you define your vision, mission and values. From the beginning we focused on innovation, my brother coming with the experience from the Institute of Atomic Physics started with the desire to contribute to the refurbishment of the Romanian industry. This is how we built our first liquid steel vacuum plant in the world using mechanical pumps, at the Special Steel Plant in Târgoviște, a unique technology that Adrian patented in 1999. In the same year, we also entered the industrial automation market, a segment in which today we are among the leaders in services.
The second decade of activity represented a new stage of consolidation in the market. It was the period of complex works, of large projects, in which our group continued to develop by providing new essential services for the energy sector and new consumers. We entered the market of services for utility networks, with the activity of meter reading – today we serve 1.4 million subscribers of Distribuție Oltenia, throughout the Oltenia region. We started to provide the maintenance service of medium and low voltage electrical installations, a critical activity for the infrastructure and for the continuity of the electricity supply.
And in the last 10 years, in response to the need to support the energy transition, we have focused on the development, digitization and maintenance of electricity grids, the digitalization of energy infrastructure and smart efficiency and consumption solutions. Among our achievements, I would mention that we have become the most experienced smart meter installer in Romania, with approximately one million smart meters installed, and we have automated three natural gas transmission pipelines, of strategic interest in the region: BRUA, Ungheni-Iași and Isaccea 1.
I am proud of our evolution and I believe that what increased our resilience was the passion and dedication for what we do, but also the fact that each time we understood what the priorities are and we wanted to contribute to Romania’s development.
– The lack of specialists remains one of the biggest challenges. How does Adrem invest in specialists?
– At Adrem, we recruit passionate, ambitious people who share our values and want to evolve professionally in a dynamic sector, with a critical role in Romania’s security and development. For their development, we implement internal training programs and workshops for our colleagues to keep them up to date with changes in the field and help them advance in their careers and become better at what they do.
In addition, we are actively involved in the education of young people, future energy professionals, through our own projects – we are developing the Adrem Academy, a space in which we aim to attract young people and develop them, both professionally and personally, first of all to build a career in Adrem, but also to support the development of the workforce necessary for the Romanian energy market. At the same time, we develop joint projects with our partners such as “Electrician Apprentice”, supported by Distribuție Oltenia, and by supporting associations that develop various education programs. Personally, I enjoy it and I get involved whenever I have the opportunity in programs for the development of young specialists in our field but also of future entrepreneurs.
– What are the biggest challenges in the field in which you operate?
– – As you said earlier, human resources are currently critical, especially in the context of projects such as PNRR and Green Deal, through which we need to accelerate the energy transition. We need specialists to use and implement new technologies, we need resources and programs to develop them and become experts in their field.
Another challenge we face more and more often is the legislative unpredictability that dismantles the business plans of the economic business environment, discourages investments and progress.
However, I believe that the real challenge that humanity has today is the fight against climate change, which must be supported by a change in the mentality regarding energy, its importance, and the way we must produce and consume it. Adrem plays an essential role in preparing Romania for the energy transition and in changing its mindset towards sustainable consumption. That is why, in the long term, we have made our commitment to sustainable development and to supporting Romania in the energy transition, with a focus on the fight against climate change and respect for the environment and our society.
– We noted that Adrem has in its portfolio among the largest energy security projects in Romania and in the region: automation of the BRUA gas pipeline (Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria); automation of the DN600 Ungheni – Chisinau natural gas transmission pipeline; automation of the new bidirectional natural gas metering station in Isaccea, capable of ensuring the import and export of natural gas from Ukraine to Bulgaria and vice versa. We also add the projects for the digitization of smart grids, renewable energy and e-mobility….Please elaborate and tell us how you manage to manage them?
– At Adrem we have invested in a team of professional engineers with experience in design and automation. They are passionate, dedicated and ambitious colleagues, whom I am glad to have by my side. We know the applications, resources and constraints of the market as a whole and we are ready to respond to any technical-economic challenge.
The BRUA gas pipeline is one of the largest projects we have worked on in recent years, for the client Transgaz. The Adrem team has automated the operation of the installation over a length of 480 km between Podisor and Recaș, along which we have integrated all the information from the technological installations into a centralized system.
Another similar project was the DN600 Ungheni – Chisinau natural gas transmission pipeline, located on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, with strategic importance for our region, especially in the context of the conflict in Ukraine and the energy crisis. It took place over 10 months, and along 120 km of pipeline.
Supporting the energy transition is a priority for us, which is why we are continuously expanding our portfolio of energy efficiency, green energy and e-mobility projects. Last year, we integrated 57 electrical transformer stations into SCADA, in five counties, and we completely refurbished another 10 stations. To support the electric car infrastructure, we built 83 turnkey charging stations in 21 counties. And on the solar energy side, in 2022 we installed almost 3 MW through photovoltaic systems, another 5 MW being contracted through the “Casa Verde”, “ElectricUp” and other works programs.
As a conclusion, regarding how we manage all these projects, I would say that the most important resource is people. They are the engine of all these successes. The fact that we have gathered together over 1000 colleagues, around common values and motivated by the same objectives, seems to me an extraordinary thing, and the results can be seen.
– What else have you planned for this year and those to come? Other projects in the works?
– For this year, we have budgeted a consolidated business of 250 million lei, 20% higher than last year’s estimates. We are planning energy efficiency projects that we focus on, but also projects for people development, diversification of the portfolio of solutions and services we offer. We are motivated to accelerate projects that support the energy transition, for a more sustainable future.
– Last year was very difficult for those who worked in the energy sector. What do you think 2023 will be like? What about the following years?
– The energy price crisis of the last year has taught us a difficult but useful lesson: to put more value on energy and optimize the use of resources. I expect the price of energy to decrease compared to the levels recorded in 2022, but I do not think they will fall to pre-pandemic levels. Thus, the trends I see for 2023 and for the coming years are those related to the energy market and the continuation and even acceleration of energy transition projects, large-scale projects started previously, ensuring major investments in green energy, energy efficiency and digitalization. As a new element for this year, I would add to the value chain of the energy sector the batteries for energy storage, provided for ensuring and stability of the energy system.
– What are, in your opinion, the solutions to overcome the energy crisis?
– We are noticing positive things at the moment on the market, namely that prices have stabilized below 1,000 RON/MWh and we have the centralized electricity purchase mechanism active. However, I am concerned about the amount of energy available to producers for this mechanism, as well as the fact that most of the energy is traded on short and very short terms, with forward transactions being almost non-existent.
Thus, in order to overcome this crisis, I believe that in the next period the focus should be on encouraging investments in green technologies, by adopting digital technologies to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs and increase the reliability of energy systems, in order to accelerate the energy transition. In addition, the efficient use of European funds, money from the PNRR, investments made by the state is also important. We have reached a time when the role of states will be needed. They must now make great efforts to find effective solutions, without losing sight of the changes that will occur as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
– Are we able to take advantage of the opportunities of the energy transition?
– The energy transition has a huge potential in all branches of the economy and in society, and with the acceleration of this process we will witness a remodeling of the value chain and the transition of classic consumers to “prosumerism”. We will no longer be the same people who just consume, but we will also become small producers, entrepreneurs, who will contribute together to the production and capitalization of the products we consume.
At the moment, the transition generates jobs, it also brings a transformation of the way we were used to working. We need candidates who learn to use and implement new technologies in all updated fields, become specialists and develop the next generations of experts in this industry. For example, we have already seen at the faculties in the field that new specializations such as energy efficiency, renewable sources, smart grids and others have been developed. These things will lead to the generation of new business opportunities, new companies will emerge, with innovative products and services dedicated to the green energy sector, which will stimulate the economy and bring changes at all levels.
– You know very well the energy sector in which you have been working for over 30 years. What does it look like? What future does it have or should it have?
– Last year was a tumultuous one for the global and local economies due to the explosion of energy prices and the invasion of Ukraine. These events have led to a fundamental change in relations in the international arena, European projects have been re-examined in terms of transition, energy security and the protection of end consumers. In Romania, we have faced seven GEOs that we had to apply on the fly, ordinances that destabilized the market and produced uncertainty and chaos, at least I am glad that this year we have a stable energy price, let’s see how energy transactions will go in the future, now being in the short or very short term. These things clearly show us what we need to do next to achieve our objectives set out in the European Green Deal, but also those of REPowerEU, without losing sight of the changes that will occur in the next period, also given the course of the conflict on our borders.
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