The Foundation for the Defense of Citizens against State Abuses has notified the General Prosecutor's Office in order to check on possible acts of abuse of office in the administration of the Societatea de Administrare a Participațiilor în Energie (SAPE) [(Energy Participations Administration Company (SAPE)], a state-owned company under the authority of the Ministry of Energy.
FACIAS demands that the faulty management of state money should attract the responsibility of those who caused the damage, and not of the Romanians who pay taxes in good faith. In the summary of the report of the Prime Minister's Control Body on SAPE's activity between the 1st of January, 2023 and the 1st of June, 2025, the inspectors found violations of the law, insufficiently prepared investments, difficulties in estimating the maintenance costs of wind farms, and expenses for which the SAPE management failed to provide sufficient justifications.
One of the reported cases refers to projects to store electricity in batteries. SAPE negotiated directly with the companies offering the land and the construction of the facilities, without following the competitive procedures as provided for under the law. The works, services and equipment were estimated at 439.5 million lei, but the negotiations were never completed.
Furthermore, SAPE spent money on the evaluation of two storage projects with facilities not yet built, although it already had documentation indicating the value of the investments. FACIAS is asking prosecutors to establish why additional evaluations were necessary, who approved the payments and how much the services cost. The requested checks also concern other expenses made in preparation for the acquisitions, as well as any payment obligations undertaken by SAPE.
There are also issues with two wind farms purchased by SAPE. At Curcubăta Mare, technical deficiencies that emerged after the plant's purchase caused prolonged shutdowns, additional maintenance costs and difficulties in valorisation of the produced energy. For the maintenance and operation of the Horia wind farm, the companies participating in the procurement requested prices significantly different from the SAPE's estimates. The company was forced to cancel the initial procedures and had to revise the cost estimates.
Other irregularities also concern the selection of the Supervisory Board of SAPE, which took approximately 300 days, compared to the legal limit of 150. Inspectors also found that a member of the Supervisory Board was appointed without following the legal procedure.
The initiative is part of the FACIAS campaign "Turn off the waste tap!". FACIAS considers that Romanians should not have to pay the bill for the law infringements perpetrated by those in charge of state companies.
FACIAS will inform the public on the responses received from prosecutors and on the measures adopted in the SAPE case.