Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CEO) received a fine of 60,000 lei for operating the energy blocks 1 and 7 of the Turceni thermal power plant without environmental permit, said the National Environmental Guard (GNM) on Tueday, writes Agerpres. The case was brought to the attention of non-governmental environmental organizations Greenpeace Romania and Bankwatch.

The GNM information indicates that operation of the two power blocks took place between January 19 to 29, an extremely cold period in Romania, in which the domestic energy demand exceeded 10,000 MW. Along with the fine, the suspension of activity of the two power units has also been imposed.

In early January, the environmental organizations said that they found the energy group 7 of the Turceni Thermal Power Station functioning, despite the fact that it had ceased operating during the beginning of 2014. The two entities have stated that energy block 7 in July had since 2006, an exemption from compliance with the regulatory requirements for reducing pollution, as a commitment agreement to function for an additional 20,000 hours since 2008 no later than 31 December 2015. According to this derogation, for 5-6 years group 7 polluted up 10 times more than the generally applicable legal norms or to other energy groups in Turceni.

The Directive 2010/75 / EU regarding the industrial emissions, transposed by Law 278/2013, offered two options for the energy groups benefiting from the exemption that allowed operation of up to 20,000 hours either be decommissioned before 1 January 2016, either be retrofitted to match the emission limit values ​​applicable to new power units built.