During a speech before the joint committees, the re-appointed minister of energy, Toma Petcu, said that the ministry he has run until now in the last six months is in advanced discussions with the Ministry of Finance for drafting a memorandum containing the mandate from the Government for negotiations with the Chinese who want to build Cernavoda reactors 3 and 4.
Petcu, proposed for the position of Minister of Energy in the new Government, received a favorable opinion on Thursday from the specialized parliamentary committees with 36 votes for and 16 against. “We have unlocked discussions with the Chinese side for Reactors 3 and 4. We are in advanced discussions with the Ministry of Finance to draft a Memorandum to be debated and approved in the Government because we need to know how much we allow and how much we can assume during the negotiation with the Chinese side, out of the 6 billion (euros, the estimated total investment – e.n.), which 3 (billion euros) would come as a contribution from the Romanian state. One billion would be provided by the existing infrastructure, plus the heavy water reserve and the octoxide from the State Reserve. For the remaining two billion and the other conditions in negotiating with the Chinese side, we need to get a very clear mandate from the Government, to know very clearly how much we can negotiate and where we can get with the Chinese side”, said Petcu, quoted by Agerpres.
He reiterated the importance of the coal-produced energy, showing that, in the first six months, coal energy production exceeded the hydro. “For the first time in the first six months of the year, coal energy production exceeded the hydro. I do not necessarily say it is a positive thing, but this certainly has shown us that we can be dependent on the coal production not only in the winter, but also in the summer”, said the proposed minister for the Energy portfolio. According to him, Complexul Energetic Oltenia will show profit in the first half of the year, after several years on losses, and will also end the year on the plus.