Energy, from stocks to consumption
Romania is well prepared to face this winter in terms of energy stocks.
Roxana Vasile, 15.11.2023, 13:50
Neither the cold nor the high energy bills will give Romanians the shivers this winter. If the weather is normal, natural gas stocks will cover domestic demand and there will be no need for imports, the Bucharest authorities said. According to the Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, in case of special requests from the Republic of Moldova or other states in the region, Romania can resort to external resources.
Sebastian Burduja: We have a gas stock of almost 103% (…) and, with this gas stock, plus what we manage to produce during the cold season, we can get through a normal winter only with Romanian gas. What does a normal winter mean? Meteorologists say it means one, maximum two episodes of frost and blizzard in a month, an episode lasting between 3 to 7 days. In case of a hard winter, if we have special requests from the Republic of Moldova or other states in the region, we are ready to activate an option with Azerbaijan, secured by Romania last spring, through which we have access to one billion cubic meters from Azerbaijan. If this is not enough, we also have the option of importing liquefied natural gas on the Greece-Bulgaria-Romania route or, of course, Turkey-Bulgaria-Romania. The reservoirs are at an optimal level of 74.7 and last but not least, the coal stocks are according to the assumed calendar.
The good news is confirmed by statistics, as Romania’s electricity consumption decreased by 6.7% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2022, according to the National Institute of Statistics. Both the population and the economy consumed less. Electricity production increased by more than 3%, the highest increase, of 40%, being reported by hydropower plants. Electricity imports were lower by 8%, while exports increased by almost 70%. This prompted the president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority, George Niculescu, to state: (track) Romania is consolidating its production capacities. The amount of energy produced in Romania increases every year. We see this from the Energy Authority as well, through the number of licenses we grant, so basically, investors’ appetite in the field is maintained.
But there is also an alarm signal. The energy transition that Europe wants is too accelerated and too expensive and it is not known, in the current and future geopolitical context, how the citizens would react to possible price increases. However, in the opinion of some specialists in the field, coal cannot and should not be eliminated from the energy mix, but included in it, alongside natural gas, nuclear or hydro energy and other renewable sources. (EE)
