Romania to be connected to Western Europe’s power grid
Romania is set to be connected to the Western European energy network thanks to grid investments worth EUR 30 billion. The funds will be provided by the EU by 2035, and the project will link Romania to Hungary and Austria in a joint project.
Romanian energy minister Bogdan Ivan signaled the signing of the new financing package dedicated to electricity networks.
“We are talking about robust financing, which can reach EUR 30 billion, including for the crucial projects proposed by us in this strategy. Interconnecting our network with Western Europe is a strategic objective through which we aim, concretely and directly, to reduce energy prices and increase Romania’s energy stability,” said Bogdan Ivan on Facebook.
After the project, Romania will gain an almost doubled interconnection capacity, from the current 4,000 MW to 7,200 MW.
The same financing package also includes the Green Corridor, a transregional project that connects Europe to baseload energy delivered from Azerbaijan through Romania. The capacity is 4,800 MW.
“The energy highways interconnect here, in Romania. The Green Corridor, which connects us to energy from Azerbaijan, comes out of the Black Sea in Romania. The Trans-Balkan gas route passes through Romania. The Austria–Hungary–Romania interconnector ultimately ensures an important segment of the new ‘energy highway.’ We are in a very good position and must transfer this advantage into people’s homes and the real economy,” Bogdan Ivan emphasized following the EU Council meeting.
Following the meeting, Romania will draft, together with Hungary and Austria, a memorandum to gain access to a solid financing package for interconnection.
“We estimate that by 2028 we can be connected to Western energy markets, for example, France, where the abundance of electricity from nuclear sources keeps prices very low,” the minister stated.
Romania has the 21st most expensive electricity in the world, according to a statistic compiled by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which compares electricity prices for households in 144 countries. Among the causes of the high electricity price in Romania are both internal factors, such as insufficient production capacities leading to expensive imports, and external ones, such as the massive increase in energy demand in the Southeast European region due to the deterioration of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and limited interconnection capacities with Western markets.
(Photo source: Bogdan Ivan on Facebook)
