Bucharestians will be able to have a fair price for heat in four to five years, together with the investments in CHPs, the change of networks and the reduction of losses, said the general manager of ELCEN, Claudiu Crețu.
“The heating system in Bucharest is doomed to work, to go on, to modernize, because it cannot be replaced. Without a piece of highway, that’s it, we stand in line on the other road. Without almost everything else, but without heat in 600,000 apartments in Bucharest, neither Palatul Victoria nor Cotroceni feel well. The situation is complicated,” said Claudiu Crețu, quoted by Agerpres.
He emphasized that this year three projects were submitted to the Modernization Fund for three new CETs, under the conditions in which “we operate with CETs from the 1960s”.
“The Minister of Energy also announced: this money was approved on October 22 at the Commission. We have the chance to absorb 362 million euros, free, non-refundable European money. To absorb them, we have to co-finance them, that They are not 100% free, so they are somewhere around 60-65%. To get hundreds of millions of money for free, we have to co-finance them let’s co-finance them, we, the ELCEN company, have to collect the invoice in the future, this money will travel on a circuit: Government, City Hall, Termoenergetica, ELCEN, we have money to co-finance these projects, if not, I will shout as long as I have a voice that these CETs that have been installed in operation in 1964-1965, during Dej’s time, they can’t last long. We are already at God help – and once the press took over with God help and some laughed. We are at God help -. was put into operation in 1964, it is an installation, a machine. The operating hours were 250,000, now we are at 400,000 hours, so they are exceeded. We are no longer talking about maintenance plans from 1964. In order to make these projects, investments, etc., we enter the pitfalls of excessive bureaucracy. I can’t wait to run for each individual opinion. It will be nice. This is a reason why many investment projects are not done and many fail along the way,” added the GM of ELCEN.
In his opinion, in 2025 the investments in the modernization of the CETs will start.
“I think that in 2025 we will actually start and make these investments. It is necessary for continued operation, I’m not talking about efficiency anymore. You realize, at the moment when technology from the 1960s changes to technology from 2024, I’m making a simple analogy , it’s like going from an Aro from the 1970s, which consumes two to three buckets and produces 50-60 horsepower, to a hybrid car that it consumes 2-3% and about 200 horsepower. With these investments in CHPs and with the change of networks, the reduction of losses, in 4-5 years we can have a fair price for heat in Bucharest, so that it will no longer be we need subsidies, let’s get back to normality. Even now, we can’t do it again, because from 2030, we are on the last hundred meters, now or never,” said Claudiu Cretu.
In his opinion, two obstacles stand “in the way of accelerated development or in the way of that ideal situation in which things work as they should: access to financing and excessive bureaucracy”.
“Due to excessive bureaucracy and the lack of an integrated vision to see things from the plane and make quick decisions, two giants, namely ELCEN and Radet, for about 10 years were severely underfunded and got together debts of almost 1 billion euros. Furthermore, in 2016, they both entered insolvency. From my point of view, people who understand and know about what is it, in an analysis of half an hour, they would have found the solution. The two giants went bankrupt. After 3 years of trouble, ELCEN managed to get out of bankruptcy past insolvency, a 6-year insolvency. (…) Access to financing, the lack of correct financing from the City Hall, regardless of the name of the mayor – ELCEN has 1 billion lei to collect from Termoenergetica, money that should come from Bucharest City Hall according to the law. If we ask the general mayor, he answers as in Marin Preda: I don’t have! And many say: ok, keep going! If it has been going like this for 15 years, why not continue? To top it off, it doesn’t work and it won’t work,” explained Claudiu Crețu.