USR representatives believe that the money paid for nine months of capping energy prices could have installed solar panels “in the backyard of millions of Romanians”, “the equivalent of 25 power stations from Portile de Fier 2 (Iron Gates 2)”.

“Instead of the toublesome compensation and capping scheme put into practice by the PSD-PNL Government, the installation of solar panels in the yards of millions of Romanians could have been subsidized, which would have meant for Romania an increase in installed power by 44% of green energy. In other words, instead of 40 billion lei wasted, we could have had in Romania an additional installed power equivalent to 25 power plants from Portile de Fier 2 or six power plants from Cernavodă or 260 power plants from The Jiului Gorge,” states a press release issued by the USR.

USR deputy Radu Miruţă, member of the Chamber of Deputies’ Industry and Services Committee, mentioned that, “according to an optimistic estimate, the energy price compensation and capping scheme costs the Romanian state 40 billion lei for nine months only, of which only one during winter.”

“Beyond the foreseeable risks that, of not having the money to pay to the suppliers, of which some will pull the curtain and it will be a first real shock in Romania, after spending this impressive amount in nine months only, the Romanian energy system is practically adding no value. We spend the blinding sum of 8 billion euros and we are at the same point, even more indebted, in a position from which is even more difficult to move,” said Miruţă.

USR representatives claim that “a simple calculation – which includes a real price on the free market of 1,000 euro for each KW installed in photovoltaic panels (with inverter and everything needed to become a prosumer) – reveals that out of 8 billion euro – the cost of the price capping scheme in the first 9 months since GEO 27 was adopted – 8 GW of installed power could have been installed in people’s households,” according to Agerpres.

“A simple drawing: these 8,000 MW mean the power of 25 power plants such as the one at Portile de Fier 2 or almost six power plants from Cernavodă or 260 power plants on the Jiului Gorge. Or 37 power plants from the Vidraru Dam. All this, given that, at this moment, the total power installed in Romania is of approximately 18,000 MW. In other words, the PSD-PNL Government could have increased by 44% the installed power of Romania, via green energy, in the yard of millions of Romanians, with sources spread over the entire surface of the country, without burdening the distribution system (production and consumption would happen in the short chain), significantly reducing the cost of the bills paid by the population,” the statement reads.