Romania has enough energy resources to get through the winter well and power companies have an annual turnover of 40 billion euro, enough to support the capping program, said Niculae Havrileț, the vice-president of the Romanian Energy Center, at RRA.
“Romania has, I could say, the greatest opportunities to value the production of electricity, especially electricity from renewable sources, because, as demonstrated by several analyzes carried out even by the World Bank, Romania could provide all of Europe’s electricity needs if the wind potential of the Black Sea were to be exploited. If I were to discuss some figures to see what these opportunities are, I could say that, at the present time, Romania consumes approximately 9,000 Megawatts on an hourly average. The wind potential of the Black Sea amounts to 72 million Megawatts,” said the former head of ANRE.
“A draft of the law on the production of electricity in the wind sector is under discussion. That is precisely why I think that the Prime Minister referred to the fact that there is still a lot of bureaucracy in terms of granting building permits, even though European funds provide plenty of investments in green energy…and Romania, having these opportunities, I’m talking about the gas from the Black Sea, and, of course, the opportunities regarding the development of solar energy, where, again, Romania enjoys the most conditions regarding the production of electricity from solar panels, thanks to the climate we have”, he added.
Regarding the compensation and capping scheme, Havrileț stated that energy and natural gas producers in Romania have revenues totaling 40 billion euros per year.
“I think it is necessary to do some mathematical calculations, a mathematical simulation, because at these prices of electricity and natural gas, my estimate or, please, my mathematical calculation shows that the producers of energy and natural gas in Romania receive 40 of billions of euros per year, for a single year, 40 billion, which, compared to the Gross Domestic Product, would constitute more than 15%. So this could be the increase of the Gross Domestic Product only from the receipts for electricity and natural gas produced in Romania; to which other charges are added, such as VAT or, if you please, network operation charges. So, basically, money would be there. It is true that it is a gap; basically, we have to ensure the compensation of this year’s bills, but this money will enter the general budget only next year. When the balance sheets of the companies will be finalized, it will be established for sure, the rates that they must give to the state will be established; here I mean VAT, profit tax, dividend tax. So, basically, we are, at this moment, collecting substantial amounts, but the capping must ensure the consumption now, and the money that is collected this year will not come until next year. It’s a discrepancy,” Havrileț also stated.