Could you describe how Restart Energy has evolved in the Romanian market and what are some significant milestones that have shaped your presence in the country?

As a company of innovation, Restart Energy began its journey from scratch with limited material and human resources. To compete with the dominant players in the local market, we had to innovate continuously. The Restart Energy Franchise was our first platform, the first franchise of energy and gas supply contracts in Romania. We realized that offering the chance to all individuals and companies that qualify to become franchisees, Restart Energy and intermediate energy and gas subscriptions was the only way to generate sales of micro-volumes to domestic consumers at a national level, in an ecoomically efficient way, and with minimal fixed costs.

In addition, Restart Energy had a strong online presence from the beginning. We launched the first 100% online application that interested consumers can use to change their current provider in under five minutes using just their mobile phone. With various payment methods and over 30,000 pay points nationwide, Restart Energy reached 10,000 customers after the first year of activity and the largest national energy sales network, all with minimal resources and relying strongly on the community’s wish to freely choose their supplier.

In 2018, we launched the RED (Restart Energy Democracy) Platform that uses Blockchain technology. Can you tell us more about this initiative and the goals it wants to achieve?

RED is a global project designed to liberalize energy from the chains of bureaucracy and market monopolies. The goal is to connect energy consumers directly with producers using state-of-the-art IoT and Blockchain technology. The installation of intelligent sensors for consumers and renewable energy producers that take the data from existing meters and safely upload them directly into a Blockchain decentralized database is the main focus. With this modern infrastructure of transparent energy measurement, it is possible to allocate and balance in real-time the energy produced from renewable and intermittent sources between consumers and producers who have subscribed to the platform.

Such a system represents a liberalization of energy because consumers are free to choose through the platform to receive energy even from a friend or neighbor if they are a producer or prosumer. More than that, one can choose to send energy to friends or family the same way we now send money by phone. The most significant advantage is that we as a supplier have created a new market where consumers can trade energy directly with producers at the price set by them, without requiring our involvement.

How would you evaluate the appetite for green energy among Romanian consumers?

In Romania, consumers have a growing appetite for clean energy and understand the importance of developing these technologies in the long term, both in terms of environmental protection and energy security. The large number of photovoltaic parks and wind turbines installed between 2011 and 2017, accounting for more than 5,000 MW installed power, is evidence of this trend. Romania is among the European countries with the highest share of renewable energy and the most balanced energy mix.

The costs of renewable energy have steadily declined in recent years due to new technologies, scale economy of equipment production, and the rise in fossil fuels prices. This trend has reached grid parity in many European countries, including Romania. The leveled cost of energy (LCOE) from renewable sources has become lower than the current energy price in the network. In Romania, there is a growing interest among consumers regarding the type of energy they use, which is a positive trend. It is crucial to give consumers the freedom to choose transparently their source of renewable energy. This can stimulate local energy production and improve the balance at the national energy system level.