Romanian National Library might have to spend two-thirds of its budget on lighting

The National Library of Romania, subordinated to the Ministry of Culture, does not rule out having to pay more than two-thirds of its annual budget to purchase electricity mainly for lighting, given the current high prices from wholesale markets.

The National Library has put up for auction a 12-month framework agreement, through which it wants to buy 5,019.20 MWh of electricity. The contract's maximum value is estimated at RON 13.55 mln (EUR 2.7 mln) without VAT - resulting in a price of up to RON 2,700 per MWh (plus VAT), Profit.ro reported.

The minimum amount of energy considered for the acquisition is 903.2 MWh, for which an estimated cost of RON 2.43 mln without VAT.

In July and October 2021, the institution tried to buy energy for a year at starting prices of RON 541/MWh, respectively RON 1,378/MWh, but it didn't receive any bids at the auctions organized in those months.

The National Library of Romania is not the only one in this situation. The Hungarian Theater in Cluj-Napoca is at risk of suspending its activity due to the very high price of methane gas, says the institution's manager, director Tompa Gabor.

"Our gas price has increased eightfold. We are at a cost of RON 26,000 per month, which is a huge blow to our budget. We are in danger of suspending the activity," said Tompa Gabor, according to Agerpres.

(Photo source: Douglas Mackenzie/Dreamstime.com)