The Minister of Energy – Sebastian Burduja, paid a visit to the Portile de Fier I Hydroelectric Plant, accompanied by Karoly Borbely – Hidroelectrica CEO and the branch manager, Dragoș Novac.
“Our company has allocated a budget of 1.4 billion euros over the next four years for investments in modernization, re-technology and acquisitions. We have doubled the maintenance budgets for each hydroelectric plant, but you know very well that there are procedures and legal purchase terms, there are many challenges, but we are looking to find solutions together with the entire team from Hidroelectrica,” said Karoly Borbely.
“This year we greatly increased the pace of investments in the entire company. I have approved the technical documentation and it will soon be out on SEAP for the transformers needed at the Iron Gates. The purchase value of the high-power transformers at Portile de Fier is 119 million lei, the documentation for this purchase has already been completed, and the auction and implementation will follow until the year 2028. We are in the process of finalizing the works on the hub of the hydro unit located in Reșita and we have as a deadline of 14 February 2025 to bring HA1 into operation.”
Portile de Fier I hydropower plant, inaugurated in 1972, is one of the largest hydrotechnical constructions on the Danube River, with an installed power of 1,166.4 MW and an annual production capacity of approximately 5.4 TWh. This includes a dam with a length of 1,278 meters and 12 Kaplan turbines (6 of which are operated by Hidroelectrica), being an essential element in Romania’s energy system and contributing significantly to electricity production and river water management. In the average hydrological year, the Portile de Fier I hydropower plant provides approx. 10% of the national consumption requirement.
“We approached the subject of Djerdap 3, a possible pumped storage plant located on the territory of Serbia, now at a pre-feasibility study level. The Serbian side worked with the American company Bechtel, which presented preliminary data regarding the investment and possible impact on energy production from Iron Gates I and II. We are very attentive to these investment plans because we do not want to suffer under any circumstances the exploitation potential of the existing hydropower plants on the Danube. Being a pumped-storage hydropower plant, we understand its importance, its role in providing system, balancing services, but – once again – we will not make any compromises from the production of electricity from Iron Gates I and II,” also said Sebastian Burduja.