| ©THE HEREN REPORTS - Romania as regional alternative |
| 2010-04-06 |
| Prices in Balkan power tender have increased significantly year-on-year, although some point to the second 700 MW unit of the Cernavoda nuclear plant coming on-stream in 2007 to ease supply. This will be commissioned at the end of March 2007, although Alexandru Sandulescu, general director of electricity policy for Romania’s ministry of economy and commerce, told Heren Energy that the plant will not be commercially available until the second half of the year. The first 700 MW unit of Cernavoda is already operational and supplies around 10% of Romania’s domestic needs. Romania’s power consumption has increased by around 2.5% on average over the last five years, and is expected to grow 3% year-on-year in 2006. However, the second unit of Cernavoda will increase generation capacity by around 9%. Units 3 and 4 are planned to be built simultaneously for 2011, and Sandulescu commented that negotiations with 12 potential investors were ongoing. Romania is already a net exporter in the region, and Sandulescu stated: “If there’s extra generation capacity, it will be exported, because Kozloduy’s closure has led to a need for energy on a regional scale.” Sandulescu said that Romania fulfilled the directive of cross-border transmission capacity surpassing 10% of national generation, and the grid operator Transelectrica holds annual and monthly auctions for capacity. However, no annual export capacity was offered in its auction at the end of November, and traders described Romania as in the grip of an “energy crisis”, with low fuel supply for coal-fired thermal generation and low levels of hydro generation this year due to lack of rain (thermal accounts for 55% and hydropower for around 30% of generation). On the OPCOM exchange, Day-ahead prices have averaged EUR 61.58/MWh for November. (THE HEREN REPORTS - EDEM 10234 / 1 December 2006) |
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