Burduja transmitted to the EU Energy Commissioner that Romania will not close the coal plants in 2026: “It would not solve anything”

The Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, had a meeting with the European Energy Commissioner on Tuesday, Dan Jorgensen, in which he reiterated the firm position of Romania, respectively that the closing of the 1,755 MW capacity on coal, provided for January 1, 2026, is not feasible in the absence of solid alternatives, Agerpres informs.

“Today, at Power Summit 2025 – Power Play, I had a very good new bilateral discussion with Dan Jorgensen, the European Energy Commissioner. I reiterated the firm position of Romania: the closing of the 1,755 MW capacity on the coal, provided in the PNRR for January 1, 2026, is not feasible in the absence of solid alternatives. Without new tape production capacities, this measure would vulnerability the national energy system, especially in the winter period. Burduja on his Facebook page.

He stressed that Romania cannot accept the “vulnerability of its national energy system”, they have so much more as the closing of the Oltenia Energy Complex would not solve, practically, nothing but more imports, from Serbia, Bulgaria, etc., and the energy produced there is also based on coal and is also very expensive.

“The gas groups, which should replace those on the coal, are in auction, after multiple unsuccessful attempts, because the price of gas turbines has exploded in the last two years. Therefore, the Ministry of Energy insists on renegotiation and postponing the term of closing the coal thermal power. Objective factors, which were not in Romania's control ”, explained the Minister of Energy.

He added that Romania is an example of a European state that has respected its commitments, investing in the extension and modernization of cross-border connections, which helped the Republic of Moldova or Ukraine, in new sources of production, in re-technologicalization.

“We expect other Member States to invest in interconnections, as it is normal, to truly have a unique and functional European market. I trust that Romania's position will be understood and accepted by our European partners. It is a reasonable position, which takes into account both the needs of Romania and our European commitments,” said Sebastian.