This year, RED Union Fenosa plans to invest US$14 million. During ten years while on Moldova’s energy market, the Spanish company invested more than US$171 million in the development of the power distribution networks, modernization of the substations, purchase of electric equipment and in administration, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on Monday, Silvia Radu, the president of RED Union Fenosa, said this sum is six times larger than the price paid for the three electric power distribution networks RE Chisinau, RED Centru and RED Sud in 2000 (US$25m). In the period, the company paid 1.1 billion lei taxes into the state budget, thrice more than the price paid for the three networks. Among the company’s accomplishments over ten years, Silvia Radu mentioned the exclusion of power disconnections that constituted 4,700 hours in 2000 and decreased to 47 hours a day in 2008. Last year, the disconnections totaled 11.85 hours. The barter was excluded and the payments for the consumed electric power increased to 99%. In 2000, the payments in cash made up only 26%. The administration process was modernized, while the relations with the clients were improved. Silvia Radu said large investments are made in improving the qualifications of the 1,246 employees. They benefit from about 100 hours of training on average a year. After Union Fenosa merged last year with another large Spanish company, Gaz Natural, the employees enjoyed more possibilities of acquiring new knowledge and experience. Speaking about the purchases of power, Radu said that the company is now negotiating with the Cuchurgan power plant and Ukrainian suppliers and will buy electricity from the economic entities that will sell it cheaper so that the charge for end users is not raised. She also said that the tariffs by autumn will not be increased, but the delay in fixing the new electric power charges by the national energy regulator caused damage of 50-60 million lei to the company. RED Union Fenosa manages 33,800 kilometers of network. It supplies power to 807,000 consumers or to two thirds of the total power consumers in Moldova.