Natural gas stocks have currently reached almost 93 percent and by November 1 they will be covered in a proportion of 95-97 percent, Minister of Energy Virgil Popescu announced on Thursday, in a videoconference with the county prefects on preparations for the cold season, headed by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, according to Agerpres.

„Coal stocks in the thermal power plant, and here I’m mainly talking about lignite, are within normal parameters. The production of lignite coal practically increased this year, by almost 900,000 tonnes, despite the fact that we had the quarry at Rosia blocked for a month and a half. Precisely, the stocks have increased to compensate for the reserve in the reservoirs of Hidroelectrica, a shortage generated especially by the drought this summer,” explained the minister.

„Coal stocks are normally secured for 10 days, but we are talking about an increased production of coal that ensures a higher production of electricity, which will compensate for the electricity produced by Hidroelectrica. At the Oltenia Energy Complex , to give you an overview, the Rovinari Power Station operates with the coal stocks in the quarry, because they come directly from the quarry to the power station, so there is no stock. They exist in the quarry and are transported by belt conveyor directly to the power plant .. (…) We need coal-based energy this winter, with this energy crisis, and the Oltenia Energy Complex is operating with all fronts pushed to maximum coal extraction capacity,” Popescu said.

According to him, the natural gas flows in and out of the country are on track and no problems with the supply are expected from this point of view.

Agerpres