Vulnerable Romanians must and will be protected after July 1, in the context of the liberalization of the energy market, and the bills will not explode, they will not boom, wrote on Facebook on Thursday, the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja.
„The capping and compensation of bills have brought Romanian household consumers, for three years, the fourth cheapest gas and the fifth cheapest electricity in the EU. Eurostat data, public data. The rest of the stories are just noise, fake and/or alarmist news. After July 1, vulnerable Romanians must and will be protected. Bills will not „explode”, they will not „buzz”. And it was not possible to do in two years what had not been done for 30 years. At least we managed to keep all energy production groups in operation (between 2009-2022, over 7,000MW of coal and gas groups were closed, band production), to add new ones (almost 2,000 MW in this mandate), to generate a revolution in storage (from less than 20 MWh to 400 MWh batteries connected to the grid). Investments are the only remedy to reduce bills in the medium and long term, and we all need to understand this,” the Minister of Energy mentioned.
He also stated that in recent days he has faced „an avalanche of fake news, attacks and insults” and stressed that the fight for Romania’s energy independence, for fairness in the face of the „smart guys”, for investments and development means taking responsibility. The Minister of Energy claims that, for his conscience, he chose to bother those who are corrupt and/or contaminated by interests hostile to Romania and to serve the Romanians.
„In the last few days, coincidentally, of course, an avalanche of fake news, attacks and insults. I’m used to it. It doesn’t affect me, it doesn’t interest me. I knew from the very beginning that the fight for Romania’s energy independence, for fairness in the face of the „smart guys”, for investments and development means taking responsibility. I know that we are disturbing and it’s inevitable, but as Mr. Bolojan said – „either you do things and disturb some, or you do nothing and in the end you disturb everyone”. For my conscience, I chose to disturb those who are corrupt and/or contaminated by interests hostile to Romania and to serve Romanians. It’s a matter of common sense. I owe it to people of good faith to break the barrage of fake news. Silence would mean complicity”, the Minister of Energy mentioned.
At the same time, the Minister of Energy emphasized that Romania’s energy must be safe, cheap and clean and mentioned that, between 1990 and 2022, Romania reduced CO2 emissions by 77%, the most in the EU.
„We need green energy, for which we obtained over EUR 10 billion in non-reimbursable funds (solar parks, wind farms, batteries, investments in networks), but also in-band energy (hydro, nuclear, gas, coal). We need every MW. In context, remember these figures: Romania reduced CO2 emissions by 77% between 1990 and 2022, the most in the EU. Most of it in the energy sector. Romania has the lowest CO2 emissions/capita in the EU, after Sweden, and the EU contributes only 4.8% of global emissions,” Burduja wrote.
He recalled that he attracted 14 billion euros in investments in his two terms, free European money. „Last year, we put into operation over 1250MW of new groups – as many as in the previous eight years combined. This year, the plan is for over 2500MW. Each new MW means the chance for Romanians and Romanian companies to have lower bills, therefore cheaper energy. And Romania’s chance to consolidate its energy independence,” the minister added.
At the same time, he emphasized that he respects civil society, without ever accepting the blocking of projects vital for Romania’s energy security.
On the other hand, the minister claims that Romania must defend its interests in the energy sector against anyone, including (or especially) Brussels.
„We cannot allow our energy security to be undermined. We cannot allow the closure of all the groups at the Oltenia Energy Complex, we cannot leave Craiova and Râmnicu Vâlcea in the cold in winter – I will insist until the end for the renegotiation of the PNRR. We cannot remain silent when the European energy market is not functional, because there are no interconnections in central Europe. Romania has over 4,000MW of interconnection capacity with neighboring countries. Other member states have zero between them, so „the wires do not cross the border”, right in the transit area – so cheap energy from the West does not reach us, the Bulgarians or the Greeks. So the European market is not functional and energy cannot circulate freely – quite simply. We demand equal rights and obligations for everyone!”, mentioned Sebastian Burduja.
AGERPRES
