Virgil Popescu announced that the Ministry of Economy is working on a support program through which hoteliers can reduce their electricity costs using photovoltaic installations. The minister referred to the prosumer’s law, which allows the installation of electricity production capacities of up to 27 kW without special approvals.

“At present, we are working on a guide,” Virgil Popescu told Digi24 TV. “A guide will be needed, an application, a project to be submitted by hoteliers and a very quick approval, especially for them; I expect the main beneficiaries, the fastest to get the support, to be the hotels on the Black Sea coast. I want them to access it this year. We discussed with ANRE to prepare the general procedures […] and probably in a week or two we will have them approved by the Energy Regulatory Authority. We are prepared.”

Also, if rules will be imposed on the changes that hoteliers, restaurant owners, cafes and bars need to make in order to reduce the risks of Covid-19 spreading, “we will make a financing package in this way, so that we can help them, so that these costs are not supported by them”, the minister added. It will be “another grant dedicated to the hospitality industry”.

“We are in constant contact with the Ministry of Health to see when tourism could restart. I hope that in July and August it will be possible to do seaside tourism in Romania. […] We have a package of 1 billion euros for SMEs. From this package some will be allocated for tourism”, said Virgil Popescu.