Ion Ariton takes over as head of the Hidroelectrica Board following the withdrawal of Silviu-Răzvan Avram, who was sent to trial in a criminal case

Riana Gegiu

23 October 2026, 10:49

Current Affairs

Foto: Facebook/ Hidroelectrica

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Ion Ariton was appointed chairman of Hidroelectrica’s Supervisory Board on Thursday, according to an announcement sent by the company to the Bucharest Stock Exchange. He takes over the position after Silviu-Răzvan Avram stepped down from his mandate in the context of a criminal case in which he was indicted.

The change comes five months after the Bolojan Government called for Avram’s suspension to be considered. In December 2025, the Ministry of Energy said it had not been officially notified that he had been indicted in a corruption case. His actual suspension and replacement were decided only in September 2026.

Now 70, Ion Ariton has been a member of Hidroelectrica’s Supervisory Board since November 2025. A former economy minister in the Boc government and former PDL senator for Sibiu, Ariton was acquitted in 2018 in the Gala Bute case.

During his tenure as economy minister, between 2010 and 2012, Ariton met with Alexei Miller, the head of Gazprom, in Bucharest and Moscow. The discussions concerned gas imports and the possibility of the Russian company becoming involved in Romania’s storage infrastructure.

Context: Hidroelectrica recently launched a procurement process for management liability insurance and reported profit growth

Before the change in management, Hidroelectrica announced in SEAP a procurement process for professional civil liability insurance services for members of the Supervisory Board and the Directorate, worth 8.36 million lei, excluding VAT. The contract has a duration of 12 months, and the documentation provides eligibility criteria related to similar experience, with a deadline for submitting bids of October 19, 2026.

At the same time, the company reported a net profit of 2.57 billion lei in the first half of the year, up 62%, driven by a 17% increase in energy production.