Is there a risk of blackouts in Romania? The Energy Minister’s response

„By the end of 2025, i.e. in three and a half months, Romania should close all the coal-fired power plants currently in operation. The condition was very simple. Let’s replace them with gas-fired power plants. Romania has taken several billion euros from the PNRR and, specifically, on this milestone, approximately 2 billion euros. Meanwhile, the gas-fired power plants and projects that were supposed to be put in place are currently only on paper, and it is clear that the European Commission has rightly asked us, we gave you the money, or you give us the money back if you want to keep the coal-fired power plants or close them,” said Bogdan Ivan, when asked if there is a risk of blackouts in Romania.

Ivan said that he had commissioned an independent study through TransElectrica, which showed that Romania currently faces four scenarios: one in which, if the coal-fired units at the Oltenia Energy Complex were to be closed, it would be „at real risk of a blackout.”

„We came up with technical arguments. This study is over six thousand pages long.

„We came up with technical arguments. This study is over six thousand pages long. My colleagues at the Ministry, together with those from the European Commission, have been working weekends and nights overtime over the last few weeks to agree on this study at a technical level. It was agreed that this week we would send a series of clarifications to the European Commission, and I very much hope that the arguments we have put forward will create a framework in which Romania will no longer face penalties for not closing on time and not meeting its commitments, and we will be able to keep at least three groups in operation and two other reserve groups out of the five that are currently part of this milestone,” Ivan added.