The Supreme Council for Country’s Defense (CSAT) has agreed in principle that the completion of works at hydropower plants in advanced stages of construction should be considered a national security project, interim president Ilie Bolojan announced on Wednesday.

The CSAT had on its agenda on Wednesday the draft law on some measures necessary for the implementation of national security projects in the field of hydropower.

„A fourth important project on the agenda was the agreement in principle for the completion of works at the hydroelectric power plants in Romania to be considered a national security project. Why did I support this decision? Since before 1989, we have been working on several hydroelectric power plants, which are 60% to 90% complete and which are not yet completed due to bureaucratic issues, pending processes, lack of environmental permits, removal from the forest fund and so on. Under the conditions in which the installed power of these hydroelectric power plants would mean a 10% increase in the entire installed power in hydroelectric power plants in Romania, this means for the Romanian economy an additional energy of several percent, cheap energy, clean energy and constant and safe energy, which would allow in the coming years, along with the other works aimed at increasing energy production in Romania, such as nuclear or those through which coal-fired power plants are switched to gas, means Romania’s energy independence, means security for our country and means, very likely, better conditions, which means a lower energy price, means fewer interruptions and therefore means better competitiveness of the national economy and CSAT agreed that this project be considered of national security,” said Bolojan.

The interim president argued that the 10 hydroelectric power plants should produce energy in a maximum of three years.

„As a result, the project is going to enter the approval circuit and under the conditions in which it will reach, we estimate in May, a final form, it is going to enter the parliamentary procedure, so that once it is approved we can restart the work to complete these hydroelectric power plants as soon as possible, so that in two years, maximum three years, the 10 hydroelectric power plants that are in very advanced stages of work, but which cannot be completed for these reasons, can enter production and we can have a better energy mix”, said Bolojan.

AGERPRES