Romania has been in a deep energy crisis for nearly three years now, driven by a distorted market and a lack of effective government decisions, while prices have risen sharply, Calin Vilt, member of the Sustainable Development Advisory Council, said on Tuesday.
"We have been in a deep energy crisis for three years now. Nothing is happening, neither Parliament nor the Government is able to manage this problem. In 2000 we restructured electricity corporations Renel and Conel, we produced energy at 38 dollars per megawatt, with profit. Today we are well over 100 euros per megawatt. So where is the money? It disappears somewhere," Vilt said at the 'Romania 2026 - 2040. Industry 4.0 - 5.0' conference.
He argued that the political class has long treated energy as a self-financing sector from which money can be extracted. "We put our hand in the citizen's pocket and took green certificates with great generosity - the most generous scheme in the EU," he added.
Vilt warned about market imbalances and the lack of stable production capacity. "We export energy for almost nothing when we have a surplus and import it at very high prices. We added renewables but without storage, and the grid operator is performing a kind of ballet to keep the system balanced."
He also noted that Romania ranks last in the EU in electricity consumption per capita, which is a sign of deeper structural problems. "We need to increase electricity consumption. Being last in the EU on this indicator is dramatic," he said.
The expert further criticised delays in major investments. "Units 3 and 4 at the Cernavoda power plant have been stuck on paper for years. Not a single brick has been laid. We shut down fossil-fuel capacities and put nothing in their place. When consumption rises, we have nothing left to start up and end up importing energy," he said.
The conference 'Romania 2026 - 2040. Industry 4.0 - 5.0' was organized by the Association for Economic and Social Studies and Forecasts (ASPES) and the Romanian Institute for Smart Industry Innovation (IRISI) - Iasi, in partnership with Romania's Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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