The Romanian government announced that it will delay the closure of two coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 660 MW, as well as the associated coal mines, until October 1, 2023, in order to maintain the security of the country’s electricity supply.
The operation of the lignite thermal power plants Rovinari 3 and Turceni 7, with an installed capacity of 330 MW each, as well as their mining operations, will continue for the next nine months, according to the government announcement.
The decision was made in accordance with a law that stipulates that during an energy crisis the government can delay the closure or restart coal-based mining operations and energy capacity, while respecting the deadline set for the decarbonization of the national energy sector.
These coal-fired power plants are operated by the public company Energy Complex Oltenia, the third largest producer of electricity in Romania.
In October, Romanian Energy Minister Virgil Popescu said that the government plans to allocate more than 900 million euros from the EU Modernization Fund to the Oltenia Energy Complex.
In June, the energy ministry announced that the government had decided to close coal-fired thermal power plants as well as coal mines by 2032 in order to decarbonize the energy sector.
Source: seenews.com
