On August 31, 2022, the partners in the CARMEN Smart Grid project submitted the application for obtaining financing through the “Connecting Europe Facility” program.

The Smart Grid Carpathian Modernized Energy Network (CARMEN) project is being developed by Delgaz Grid and Transelectrica, in partnership with the Hungarian transmission operator MAVIR.

Since May, when the project received final approval from the European Union and was included in the fifth list of Energy Projects of Common Interest (PIC), CARMEN has successfully ticked all the stages and requirements to become eligible to access financing through the program “Connecting Europe Facility” of the European Commission, dedicated to Projects of Common Interest.

Thus, on August 31, 2022, the Project Partners submitted the application to obtain non-refundable financing within the open call for projects related to the mentioned program.

The CARMEN project has a value of approximately 120 million euros, and the investment concerns works that will be carried out for a period of 4 years, in the period 2023-2026, in order to transition the infrastructure in the concession area of ​​Delgaz Grid S.A. and CNTEE Transelectrica S.A., towards the Smart Grid concept.

“Together with our partners, we are completing another important stage in the development of this strategic project for our companies, but also for the Romanian energy system. Among other objectives, the CARMEN Project will directly contribute to the increase in the capacity of decentralized energy production networks. In this way we support customers who want to become prosumers in increasing numbers by installing renewable energy production capacities. Thus, we contribute to the general effort for decarbonization, digitalization and energy security,” says Volker Raffel, CEO of E.ON Romania.

“We congratulate the partners in the CARMEN Project, as well as our colleagues in the implementation team for the rapid progress in the development of this energy initiative. Significant progress has been made in the last year for this project to take shape. The CARMEN project has just marked an essential stage in terms of steps to obtain funding sources that will support its development and implementation. Through the joint efforts of the parties involved in the development of the Carmen Project and a serious partnership, we will complete important steps in achieving the objectives aimed at increasing the performance of the national energy sector and facilitating the degree of interoperability between the European energy systems,” adds Gabriel Andronache, CEO of Transelectrica SA.

The CARMEN Common Interest Project aims to develop an intelligent transmission and distribution network in order to improve the quality of services offered to customers and to make investments that ensure compliance with mandatory performance standards, by modernizing and digitizing the electricity infrastructure.

The partnership involves the development of the first PCI Smart Grid in Romania with cross-border impact, which will determine numerous benefits at the level of the entire Eastern European region (Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, Bulgaria), from the perspective of energy flow and the digitalization of transport and distribution networks.

As part of the project, substations and substations, high-voltage overhead lines will be modernized, specific IT and communication technologies will be implemented, modern means of voltage control at the level of the energy system (FACTS systems) will be installed in the electrical transmission network and the platform for sharing measured operational data will be developed.

CARMEN will directly contribute to the increase in the capacity of taking over the low-voltage network of electricity produced from renewable sources by the prosumers, the project representing an extremely important step in the direction of accelerating the decarbonization and digitization of the electricity transmission and distribution network managed by the partners involved in the project.