The Mintia power plant will be closed for 12 days, between August 23 and September 3. The management of the Hunedoara Energy Complex says that the power plant stops for service work, while the unionists claim that it has no coal. It is the longest stop since 1997.

The general manager of the Hunedoara Energy Complex, Samuel Dioane, told the Mediafax correspondent on Wednesday that the Mintia power plant will be closed between August 23 and September 3 for maintenance works.

“Between August 23 and September 3, the Mintia power plant will be stopped for revisions, summer repairs, otherwise we may have problems for winter, both on the thermal side and on the electrical side, all that includes revisions, boilers. We have to do a program of revisions, which otherwise cannot be done. We still had problems with boilers and decided to do a repair and maintenance program. After that we will get into the normal program,” said Samuel Dioane, director of CEH, for Mediafax.

He acknowledged that stopping the power plant during this period has “a little connection” with the blocking of rail traffic in the Simeria area, but argues that there is enough coal. On the other hand, the president of the Hunedoara Solidarity Syndicate, Cristian Iştoc, says that the Mintia power plant is facing a lack of coal.

According to him, the rail traffic will be blocked in the Simeria area, so no coal can be brought in.