Romania will ask the European Commission to accept a three-year postponement for the closure of the lignite-fired power plants and the coal mines of the Oltenia Energy Complex (CEO), compared to the calendar included in the CEO restructuring plan agreed with Brussels and by the legislation in force for the decarbonization of the national energy system, according to a document consulted by Profit.ro.

The development of gas-fired power plants to substitute the coal-based capacities lags behind schedule, and closing down the latter would significantly damage the country's production capacity.

Based on the current commitments, Romania should close 2026 lignite-fired energy production units with a cumulative installed capacity of 2,085 MW.

CEO's investments in new production units, representing two natural gas power plants of 1,325 MW in total and 8 photovoltaic parks totaling 690 MW, supplemented by the refurbishment of a 10 MW hydroelectric power plant, lag behind schedule.

The solar power plants should have been put into operation in June 2024, and the gas-fired groups have a completion deadline of June 2026. Overall, the restructuring plan has an implementation deadline of the end of 2026. However, the CEO's latest estimates show that the gas-fired power plants could only be put into operation in March and July 2028, and the photovoltaic parks – in June and November 2026.

Consequently, the CEO wants to hire consultants to develop a project to modify and extend the restructuring plan, a project for which the Romanian state will request approval from Brussels.

(Photo: Complexul Energetic Oltenia on Facebook)

iulian@romania-insider.com