Romania’s electricity imports increased by 60% this year compared to the previous year, mainly due to maintenance activities of some production units, such as the capacity at Cernavoda, said the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Energy, Dan Drăgan, at a specialized event.
He was asked what was the reason for the increase in electricity imports in 2024 by 60% and the decrease in production by 11%.
“If we look at the total annual volume, the import increased mainly due to the maintenance activity of the production units – and here we refer to significant capacities, such as the capacity at Cernavodă. On the other hand, we must take into account the very low volumes of water that were available during this period – and we refer in particular to the production capacities at Portile de Fier. At the same time, we must also take into account the lower production of capacities that use solid fossil fuels, this being determined by the need for maintenance work on equipment. We must also take into account the fact that the markets are interconnected and, when a price in an adjacent market is lower, the tendency is for the energy from the market where the price is lower to go towards balancing in another market”, mentioned Dan Dragan.
The Secretary of State expressed his hope that all the capacities that are currently being implemented, under construction, whether they are independent producers or industrial prosumers, will be seen in the market, starting next year.
At the same time, he was asked by journalists whether there is a risk of generalized outages, pressure on the system, due to very high imports, as mentioned in a project of the Ministry of Energy regarding the Mintia power plant.
“From the point of view of supply, of security of supply to final consumers, whether they are households or industrial, there is no risk at the moment. There is no such risk because Romania is interconnected with other countries and, if we follow the Transelectrica website, we notice that there is a balance, moments when Romania is a net exporter, due to wind power production or photovoltaic production. There are moments when Romania is a net importer. It is normal for this bidirectional flow to exist in an economic activity. (…) There is no risk at the moment of interruption of electricity and gas to consumers. This risk did not exist even when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. This is very well monitored and managed in Romania, including with colleagues from Transelectrica, from the National Energy Dispatcher – and there is no such risk at the moment”, explained the Secretary of State.
In his opinion, representatives of the Ministry of Energy referred to this risk because they are working on different scenarios and possibilities, as in any economic activity.