Energy consumption at Easter will be low, and production must be at an adequate level, so that there are no adequacy and voltage problems at the system level, which is why measures have been taken for each type of producer, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said on Tuesday.

Thus, at Hidroelectrica, hydroelectric units will be shut down, at Nuclearelectrica, power could decrease by up to 40%, while Elcen will shut down units that produce electricity. At the same time, prosumers are recommended to turn off their inverters, the minister said after the Energy Command meeting.

“If in the past, in general, problems arose when we could not cover a high consumption at the country level, this time we are talking about a period that typically has a low consumption level, a reduced economic activity. It is Easter for everyone and, moreover, it is also Orthodox and Catholic Easter. So not only in Romania, but in the entire region, consumption will be low and then we must ensure that production will be at an adequate level, so that there are no adequacy problems or voltage problems at the system level”, said the minister after the Energy Command meeting.

He stressed that during Easter, temperatures will be normal for this period of the year and cloudiness will also be within normal limits, but there will be production in photovoltaic plants. In contrast, production in wind plants will be reduced.

“The most sensitive period will be Sunday, the first day of Easter, between 11:00 and 16:00. Then we estimate a consumption that could be around 2,500 megawatts, in the base scenario. It is a very low consumption. Think that on a normal Sunday, a day when there is anyway a lower consumption than during the week, we are talking about values ​​of 5,000, maybe 4,000 or so MW, so we are talking about a level twice as low”, explained Burduja, according to Agerpres.

In this context, the Minister of Energy specified, a series of measures were taken into account for each type of producer, to reduce production, so that it is as close as possible to the consumption level. At Hidroelectrica, the flow of the Danube will be decreasing, and the company’s specialists are prepared to stop some groups, from hydro aggregates, so that hydro production is as close as possible to zero.

At Nuclearelectrica, “the producer that, in general, is better not to touch”, power reductions of up to 20% or even 40% will be made if necessary if the situation requires it.

At the same time, Elcen Bucharest will only operate hot water boilers and will stop the units that produce electricity, and the Oltenia Energy Complex will operate with only two groups and those at a reduced power of 80 MW each (almost 160 MW in total).

“Also, to increase consumption this time, we discussed Hidroelectrica, for example, will use the pumps it has at Lotru-Ciunget. There is a pumping system there and it will ensure an increase in consumption of around 50 MW. Not only there, there are three places where they have this kind of system. And we are also counting on batteries, because we see that since last year – at the beginning of the year we had 8 MWh in batteries – today we have almost 400 MWh, so these batteries will charge and help balance the system”, Burduja explained.

He also indicated that he had spoken with the president of the Prosumer Association, Dan Pîrșan, who will recommend prosumers to turn off their inverters. “Every prosumer knows how to do this, it’s a very simple thing. Why? Of course, prosumers also produce energy, consume part of it, inject the excess into the network and this can create imbalances”, added the minister.

He assured that energy specialists “will be on the barricades” during the Holidays to manage all the risks and that there is no reason to worry.

“There are no holidays in energy. There will be no holidays for me either. I also told my colleagues in command that, depending on the evolution of the situation, we can see each other on Good Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday the second day of Easter. We are on the barricades and I want to assure all Romanians that we are managing all these risks, this situation, and that there is no reason at this moment to worry or to make press headlines like “risks of blackouts in Romania”. “Only since I have been minister, I think I have experienced dozens of situations in which blackouts were announced in Romania. I was not even close and it was not the case, because we have good specialists, we have an energy system that can adapt”, pointed out Sebastian Burduja.