In the last 10 years, no new electricity production capacity has been built in Romania and it is shocking what happened, because we have come to import energy, said on Wednesday evening, the Minister of Economy, Energy and Business Environment, Virgil Popescu.

“Energy is another strategic area of Romania and I don’t think there is a problem posing of not being able to build new production capacities, to switch from coal to gas, new renewable capacities to produce electricity. In the last 10 years we have not built anything at all, no new electricity generation capacity in Romania. It’s outrageous what happened and we’ve come to import energy. This has to stop and we have to get to work. There are feasibility studies in progress and you will see that the construction of new electricity capacities will actually start next year,” said Virgil Popescu, at Digi24, according to Agerpres.

He stressed out that he will push all the companies behind, whether state or private, to make these investments, because there is money for energy, including for reactors 3 and 4 in Cernavoda.

“As long as I am a minister, I will make sure that this happens. I will push all the companies from behind, whether they are from our portfolio or private, to make these investments. We have money for energy, including for Cernavoda – there is money, and you will soon see that what we have promised will happen: we will continue the construction of reactors 3 and 4 from Cernavoda. Romania needs reactors 3 and 4 from Cernavoda. There are things in progress that we cannot talk about for the moment, but when we will be able to talk, we will talk and we will say exactly how things were and what we want to do, how we managed to reach that level and when we will complete them, obviously,” mentioned Popescu.