Natural gas consumption in Romania has lately surged, but the country is totally out of an energy shortage scenario with a systemic failure of its national grid, Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan said on Monday at the end of a meeting of the National Energy Command.
"Currently today we've had the highest consumption this winter and in the last four years, of 9,235 MW instantaneously, which automatically leads us to an additional need for electricity. We have mobilised both Hidroelectrica, which is in a very good condition, and there is a fairly stable energy mix as we produce about 1,000 MW from wind power as well. Also, the Oltenia Energy Complex produce coal energy to the maximum. Gas consumption has increased a lot. There is an average increase, compared to the same period last year, of 14.5%. We have reached the psychological threshold of 60 million cubic metres per day, consumption, which automatically leads us to the growing need to synchronise ourselves on everything that means extraction from warehouses and production, plus to balance the import area in certain intervals. Today, our gas storage facilities are 59% full, we are 10% above the European Union average and this summer we decided to fill the storage facilities to capacity; it turns out that it was an inspired decision, because today, when we have these frosty spells, we can say that we are ready to face any challenges," Ivan said.
According to him, the ongoing cold spell will last through Wednesday, January 21, and the national grid is fully prepared, both in terms of power generation and natural gas, transmission, distribution and supply.
"After bad weather, system failures occurred in Suceava County. In four areas there are 700 consumers without power, but they are working hard to reconnect them. Romania is also prepared in terms of coal stocks, although our colleagues from the Jiu Valley and from the Oltenia Energy Complex faced temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius during this time. They were at work; they mined somewhere around 25,000 tonnes of coal every day. Our colleagues from Paroseni are working and will keep the coal-fired power plants running to make sure that we have enough electricity. We keep the same gap of about 1,200 MW worth of imports. I think it is most important for the people at home to know, in order to avoid topics that create commotion, that Romania is, today, totally outside an energy shortage scenario where a systemic failure of the national grid may occur. Everyone is prepared and I personally made sure that each of the responsible companies are prepared with all the specialists both in the dispatch area and in the field. The conclusion is that we also have natural gas, we also have energy, we are working at full capacity to make sure that we overcome this frosty time. In terms of natural gas, I can say that the stored gas is 170 billion cubic metres higher than in the same period last year."
Ivan has convened the National Energy Command for Monday afternoon, at the headquarters of the National Energy Dispatcher, amid a cold wave gripping most of Romania.
The National Weather Administration (NMA) on Monday issued renewed code yellow warnings for frost and particularly low temperatures, valid throughout the country until Wednesday morning, and information of particularly cold weather, frost, wind intensification, mixed precipitation and sleet throughout Thursday morning.
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