The Ministry of the Environment wants to increase by 23% the specific contributions of the management of the water resources collected by the National Administration “Romanian Waters” (ANAR), which would be a powerful blow for Hidroelectrica, but also for other big energy producers that consume significant water quantities in their production processes, such as Nuclearelectrica or Oltenia and Hunedoara Energy Complexes. Everyone has been complaining for years that the current level of contributions, established in 2010, is exaggerated, according to profit.ro.

In 2010, the contributions for hydropower plants increased more than 4 times, from 0.26 to 1.1 lei / thousand cubic meters of water. Now, the Ministry of Environment wants to increase them to 1.35 lei / 1,000 cubic meters. For the power plants and for the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, the contribution jumps from 24 to 29.52 lei / 1,000 cubic meters.

The Ministry of the Environment wants to increase the contributions after ANAR complained that it can no longer fully recover the costs of maintaining the infrastructure of the national water management system, due to the increase of its assets base, which implies an increased volume of operating and maintenance expenses, and also after the rising prices for materials and fuel, increasing costs of compliance with EU law and lowering its revenues.