Had Iernut Power Plant functioned, Romania would have been net energy exporter(USR MP)

Romania would have become a net exporter of energy if the Iernut Power Plant had operated, says Save Romania Union (USR) deputy, Vice-president of the Committee for Industries and Services of the Chamber of Deputies, Cristina Pruna, noting that it "is gathering dust, given that it is 90 percent completed".

She stated on Friday that the net import of electricity between January and October 2021 was 1.43 TWh, according to the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) data, and the operation of the Iernut Power Plant in the same period would have meant a production of at least 2 TWh.

"The state-owned company Romgaz, in the portfolio of the Ministry of Energy, has transfers to the Romanian state from taxes of RON 7.4 billion budgeted for 2022. We are talking about over 1 billion euros collected by the Romanian state through over-taxation. At the same time this company is not in a position to finalise an almost complete investment.We are talking about the Iernut Power Plant which is collecting dust given that it is 90 percent completed. If this project had been completed, as scheduled, Romania would have been a net exporter of energy," Cristina Pruna explained, according to a USR statement sent to AGERPRES.

"Many are talking about Romania's energy independence, but they are doing nothing. The Minister of Energy lied to us in April 2021 that the plant will be completed 'by the end of the year'. In January this year he announced a new term at 'the end of 2022'. How many more lies need to be told and how many Romanians still have to face the explosion of energy bills until the new Iernut gas-fired power plant is ready?," added Pruna.

USR has tabled a simple motion in the Chamber of Deputies against Energy Minister Virgil Popescu, to be debated and voted on next week.