No problems are anticipated regarding the production of electricity and the adequacy of the system, declared the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, at the end of the meeting of the Winter Energy Command.

He specified that he convened the Winter Energy Command because there will be lower temperatures in the coming days and he wanted to monitor the situation of electricity production, gas production, to see to what extent consumption is covered by domestic production or if imports will be used, what is the situation of interconnections and how the Republic of Moldova can be helped.

“It is true, on days when the wind does not help us, we do not have wind energy production, as it is even today, as it will be tomorrow and partially the day after tomorrow, Romania also resorts to imports. We have taken all the necessary measures to increase domestic electricity production,” said Burduja, quoted by Agerpres.

Romania’s interconnection capacity has increased as a result of the investments made by Transelectrica in recent years and currently we can count on imports of almost 4,000 MW, he said,

“I want to congratulate Transelectrica for the investments made in recent years and especially in the last year. Romania’s import capacity or interconnection, import and export, has increased and we can count on up to 4,000 megawatts at this point. So, as for the alarmist news that said that when we import 2,800 or maybe even 3,000 MW the Romanian system is on the verge of collapse, they are completely false. (…) as a result of the investments from Reșița – Pancevo, for example, or from Medgidia or from other parts of the energy system, we can accommodate, as I told you, imports of up to 4,000 MW. This is a significant improvement,” explained Burduja.

He mentioned that the Paroșeni Thermal Power Plant in the Jiu Valley is also operational, after a period in which certain repair works were carried out, currently having a stock of almost 70,000 tons of coal, which ensures operation, if necessary, for a month and a half without interruption.

Also, at the Oltenia Energy Complex, five and a half groups will operate on Wednesday, respectively two in Turceni, three in Rovinari and half in Ișalnița.

“We have practically started everything that can be started safely and we have also noticed an increase in the coal stock at the Oltenia Energy Complex and I want to congratulate my colleagues there for exceeding half a million tons. This is a stock beyond what is produced daily in the Oltenia Energy Complex, so it allows without problems to cover frost episodes or episodes in which consumption increases greatly and we have to rely on four or five, five and a half groups at the Oltenia Energy Complex,” the Minister of Energy also stated.

As for Hidroelectrica, there is a higher flow on the Danube, over 6,000 cubic meters/second, and all efforts have been made to be able to operate at Portile de Fier with five groups, of which only one with a power reduction. At the same time, a major repair will be completed in February at Group 1, which has been under repair for 2 years.

“From mid-February onwards, we will be able to rely on all the groups at Portile de Fier 1. As a result of this, the water reserve in the reservoirs has also increased by 1% although there is still a drought, there is a pluviometric deficit. Because ‘Iron Gates 1’ worked better and longer, we were able to accumulate more water in the reservoir reserves,” Burduja explained.

There are no problems in the area of ​​gas-based electricity production, Burduja added, as this is still the main source of electricity production during the cold season, except for days when the wind blows and wind farms are the first source.

Regarding gas stocks, the minister announced that there are over 1.8 billion normal cubic meters in storage, which ensures Romania’s needs for the cold season.

“We do not anticipate any problems. It is true, we export every day, in commercial terms, so we pay as much as this gas does, to our brothers across the Prut. We export across the Prut about 5 million normal cubic meters. We import a similar quantity on the relationship with Bulgaria and today, after a long time, we even import on the relationship with Hungary. So we import a certain quantity across the border with our Hungarian neighbors. (…) All these parameters are monitored every second and the issue of security of electricity and gas supply for Romanians has not been and will not be raised under any circumstances,” concluded Sebastian Burduja.