Romania’s coal stocks are insufficient and can last only for four days, an insufficient volume to solve the problems of the cold wave that swept Romania, says Energy Minister Toma Petcu.

“To establish how did the situation escalate to be all the time in lack of stocks of coal, we ordered (the govenmnet) control body to check how the two companies and the former ministry of Energy prepared for the winter period. In the next period we will develop very clear procedures and established rules that tell us how to do starting from this unfortunate experience and form the historic consumption in electric and gas. Such procedures were not taken during the previous government,” said Thomas Petcu in a joint meeting of government on Thursday.

The Minister also presented the stocks of coal of the Energy Complex of Oltenia (CEO) and Hunedoara (CEH). CEO Oltenia has a stock of coal of 357,000 tons at a daily consumption on hourly peak of 80,000 tons, while CEH Hunedoara stock is of 30,000 tons of coal at a rate of consumption of 6,100 tonnes per day, which would just last for just four days, needed be to ensure the proper functioning of the two companies, according to the minister of Energy.

In a press release issued on Thursday by CEO, stated that existing stocks in power plants and mine pits and daily deliveries performed from pits to power plants allow smooth functioning of the energy units available.

In a posting on Facebook, former Minister of Energy Victor Grigorescu says that the stocks needed for winter in the energy system exist and this was notified to the Grindeanu government. “It is naive to believe that these stocks disappear overnight or that they can be achieved by simply ordering it. Stocks for the winter started to be accumulated since Autumn,” wrote Grigorescu.

“The discussion related on the stocks existence is a political issue and not a professional one,” wrote Grigorescu, who insisted that “burden legacy” is only a matter of political speech.