Termoelectrica and TurboEnergyPower auction: prices "inflated" by up to 18 times

Colaj NordNews

Several internal documents and briefing notes were sent to NordNews’ editorial office on condition of anonymity, which indicate that the winning bid was given to TurboEnergy Power SRL.

According to our sources at Termoelectrica S.A., the institution’s management allegedly ignored an information note sent to CEO Iurie Razlovan in February 2025. This document is based on the decision of the National Agency for the Settlement of Complaints (ANSC) on the aforementioned tender, dated January 14, and states that“the evaluation of the proposals submitted by TurboEnergyPower SRL was found insufficient […] regarding the adequacy of the technical and financial proposal submitted by the bidder”.

This information note was drafted by the Service for Planning, Investment and Maintenance Organization (SPIOM) of Termoelectrica S.A. The document also shows that none of the three bidders – ABS SRL, HORUS SRL and TurboEnergyPower SRL – met the technical conditions of the tender worth more than 26 million lei.

According to the organizational and operational regulations of SPIOM, approved by Iurie Razlovan in 2024, this unit is responsible for planning and control of repair, maintenance and reconstruction works in Termoelectrica S.A. This unit also checks projects and estimates, collects information on how the works are going on and how the money is spent. In addition, it analyzes risks and checks all offers from companies participating in procurement tenders.

Inadequate tender of the company HORUS SRL

According to the information note, the company “Horus” SRL, which offered almost 26 million lei, does not meet the specifications of “Termoelectrica” S.A… This decision was taken after analyzing its bids for turbogenerators Nos. 1, 2 and 3:

The calculation of the labor remuneration fund for production works did not take into account the number of installed equipment or works performed, which resulted in a total amount for works valid only for one unit of equipment;
The price of a laptop with specialized software of R597 thousand would be unreasonable and excessively high relative to market standards and specifications. A detailed evaluation would be required to justify this cost, the note said.

Source: mtender.gov.md

NordNews editorial staff sent an official inquiry to Valentin Balan, Director of Horus Ltd. on July 8. We asked for an opinion on the alleged discrepancies mentioned in the memo issued by the SPIOM section to Termoelectrica S.A., as well as whether the company was informed that it would not meet the requirements of the technical specifications. At the time of publication of this material, we have not received any response from the company.

Inadequate offer of the company “ABS” SRL

The company “ABS” SRL, which offered 22.5 million lei, still does not meet the technical conditions published by Termoelectrica S.A. on the website achiziții.md. In the memorandum received by the editorial office, estimates nos. 1, 2 and 3 for all three turbine generators are not in compliance:

According to Chapter 3 “Auxiliary Materials” of the tender offer, Termoelectrica S.A. requires ECT equipment (excitation control terminal) in the amount of two units, but the bidder included only one;
No calculation of the total amount for each individual unit of work;
One laptop and one SMTS-RT-6000 SMTS-RT-6000 equipment are only present in quotes 1 and 3, for turbine generator 2 and 3. However, these tools are required for all three turbine generators. Their absence is unacceptable, Termoelectrica S.A. said in a memorandum.

NordNews editors sent a letter to Serge Balice, director of ABS Ltd. on July 8. We requested information about the discrepancies stated in the Termoelectrica S.A. memorandum and whether Mr. Balica’s company had been notified that it did not meet the specifications. However, at the time of publication, no response had been received.

Inadequate offer of the company “TURBOENERGYPOWER” SRL

The case of “TurboEnergy Power”, the winning company of the tender that offered almost 22.8 million lei, has the most inadequacies, according to the specifications, according to a memo from Termoelectrica S.A..

According to the specifications on the mtender.gov.md website, it is required to replace obsolete devices and equipment of thyristor excitation systems of the UNITROL-5000 type, installed on turbogenerators Nos. 1,2,3, with modernized software and components for the UNITROL-6000 version. The proposal of TurboEnergy Power SRL includes the American Emerson brand excitation system.

According to the procurement.md platform, TurboEnergy Power SRL offers a three-year warranty provided by Emerson Process Management Romania SRL, the manufacturer’s regional partner.

In this regard, from the previous material on this tender, the head of the company “Termoelectrica” S.A., Iurie Razlovan, said that the company’s specialists would make a study visit to the Rovinari power plant in Romania, where a similar system has been in operation since 2021. Representatives of Termoelectrica S.A. claim that the equipment tested there is equivalent to the proposed equipment and that participation of other manufacturers is allowed under one condition – to present several already realized similar works.

In fact, the memo allegedly ignored by Mr. Razlovan states that this equipment does not meet the technical requirements for the Sursa I CHPP and the aforementioned turbine generators.

The second inconsistency of the TurboEnergyPower tender is that the company offered a magnetic field damping unit (called Crowbar) for all 3 turbine generators, although according to the tender specification it was required only for turbine generator No. 1.

In quotations 1 and 2 under the heading “Removal of Existing Equipment” by TurboEnergyPower, the estimated hour/person time would not have been correctly applied, as stated in the SPIOM department order of Termoelectrica S.A.’s SPIOM department.

The calculation of the payroll for production work did not take into account the number of equipment installed or work performed on it, which would have led to the establishment of a total amount for work valid for only one unit.

Prices have increased almost 18 times

The exact names of the equipment offered by all three companies that participated in the tender organized by Termoelectrica S.A. cannot be found either on the official platform tender.gov.md or on the website achizitii.md. In the absence of this public information, NordNews contacted sources inside Termoelectrica S.A. to get details about the winning company, TurboEnergy Power SRL.

According to our sources’ estimates, the difference between the contract amount and the real market value of the equipment would have amounted to almost 12 million lei. In order to verify these claims, we conducted a comparative analysis between the equipment offered by TurboEnergy Power and the prices in online trading on recognized international sites.

Below we present some of this equipment. The price differences identified vary considerably, ranging from 2, 4, 8, 12 and up to 18 times the market prices. The cost of the equipment was recalculated in Moldovan lei at the exchange rate as of July 21.

The list opens with a laptop with i7 processor, 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, estimated by “TurboEnergy Power” company at 188.4 thousand lei. The same model was found in two copies on an English website. The first laptop can be purchased for 10 thousand lei (1784% difference) and the second one for 23 thousand lei (719% difference).

If we turn to a Moldovan company with similar specifications, we can find similar laptops at prices ranging from 13.8 thousand lei to 28.6 thousand lei.

Another piece of equipment is the Fan Cesotec fan, which is declared at a price of 125 thousand lei, while the market price is almost 9.7 thousand lei – a difference of 1188%.

The equipment – analog output module Ovation Hart – is listed in the offer at a price of over 132 thousand lei, while on the market it can be purchased for only 14 thousand lei on the website . The difference is 840%.

Another piece of hardware is the Ethernet Link Controller (ELC), whose price exceeds 128 thousand lei. However, we can find it for 38.7 thousand lei. Thus, the difference is 231%.

The equipment – analog input module Ovation Hart – is listed in the offer at a price of over 142 thousand lei, but we can find it on the market for 27 thousand lei. The difference is 420%.

Another device is the Knick current translator offered by “TurboEnergyPower” SRL for 30 thousand lei. We found it for 5 thousand lei. Thus, the difference is 516%.

The other product is a resistive temperature detector (RTD), which was offered for 82 thousand lei, but the real cost is 15 thousand lei. The difference amounts to 452%.

The other equipment is a digital output of the Ovation type, which was offered at a price of over 65 thousand lei. On the Internet we find it at a price of more than 7 thousand lei. Thus, the difference is more than 833%.

Of course, there are also apparatuses that we could not find freely available on any platform. These include:

SL-12 with pulse transformer, offered in a quantity of 3 units at a price of Rs. 356 thousand per unit;
Excitation mounting board and power supply, offered in one unit each at a price of almost Rp 570 thousand;
Crowbar equipment, offered at a price of 249 thousand lei per unit;
One Cisco switch, offered at a price of almost 110 thousand lei, offered in a quantity of two pieces;

On July 8, NordNews editorial staff also sent an inquiry to Victor Slivinschi, director of TurboEnergoPower LLC, asking questions about all these discrepancies. At the time of publication, no official response had been received from the company.

At the same time, on July 18, NordNews asked the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul to conduct an expert examination to clarify the discrepancy between the prices paid by Termoelectrica S.A. and the prices on the free market. At the time of publication, we have not received an official response from this institution. We will come back with details as soon as we receive the official position of IDIS Viitorul and Termoelectrica S.A..

Management of Termoelectrica S.A.

An internal document issued by the director of Termoelectrica S.A., Yuri Razlovan, and obtained by NordNews on condition of anonymity, points to possible irregularities in the work of the management. More precisely, the cited document calls for the organization of a commission for spring technical inspection of buildings and structures managed by the company, but with a date prior to the issuance of the act.

The commission was to assess the condition of the real property in accordance with building codes and regulations, and its report was to reflect any defects.

The order issued on May 29, 2025, requires that the report be made by April 18, 2025. The report is directed to the following divisions of Termoelectrica S.A.:

Commission “Boiler and Generating Turbine Section No. 1”;
Commission “Electricity Source Section No. 1”;
Commission “Chemical Service, STA No. 1
Commission “Fuel Service”;
Commission “Thermomechanical Service”;
Commission “Building Maintenance Service”;
Social Services Commission;
Commission “Metal Inspection Laboratory”;
General Dispatch Services Commission;
Property Protection and Procurement Services Commission
Commission “Boiler and Turbine Section No. 2”;
Commission “Electric Power Sector No. 2”;
Commission “Water Treatment Sector No. 2”;
Commission “Thermal Engineering Sector of the Southern Thermal Power Plant”;
Commission “Heat Engineering Operation Sector of Western CHPP”;
Commission “Suburban Heat Network Service”;
Commission of the Section “Heat Network Center”;
Commission “Chokan Heat Networks Section”;
Commission “Râșcani Heat Networks Section”;
Commission “Buiucani Heat Networks Section”;
Commission “Botanica Heat Networks Section”;

According to the construction norms, general inspections are carried out in spring and fall. However, Iurie Razlovan allegedly decided to conduct the inspection only on May 29, at the end of spring, but late.

According to the building norms, roofs should be inspected every 3-6 months and any defects should be fixed within one day. However, in reality, according to NordNews sources, the roof of the mechanical workshop on T. Vladimirescu Street in Chisinau has been damaged for more than ten years without any repairs.

On July 8, NordNews sent an official request to Iurie Razlovan, the general director of Termoelectrica S.A. company. July 8. According to an entry in the internal system, the document was received by the Chancellery on the same day.

In the absence of a response, we contacted the company’s public relations representative Olga Sturheckaia on July 17. She informed us that an official response would be sent by the end of the next day, July 18.

On July 15, NordNews published an article in which three employees of Termoelectrica S.A. called the management style of director Yuri Razlovan “Stalinist.” This revelation was made in a complaint to the Moldovan management. Until the time of publication of the report and this article, the editorial board had not received an official opinion from the company.

Denis Chirtoca