The extreme weather leaves thousands of people without electricity in several counties in the country. The Winter Energy Committee, urgently convened
The Winter Energy Committee meets on Monday, January 5, to assess the situation in the energy sector, after the extreme weather of the last few days left thousands of households without electricity in several counties of the country, in the context of warnings of blizzards, heavy snow and poles.
Thousands of people without electricity PHOTO: getty images
According to the Ministry of Energy, on Sunday evening, January 4, at 20:00, a number of 17,428 consumers were still without electricity. The biggest problems were registered in Alba, Mureș and Sibiu counties.
Authorities say the damage was caused by the severe weather conditions of the past two days, marked by yellow and orange codes of increased wind, blizzard, heavy snow and ice. Electrical installations managed by distribution operators Distributie Energie Electrică Romania, Distributie Oltenia and Rețele Electrice Romania were affected.
In the last 36 hours, more than 100 intervention teams worked continuously in the field, managing to reconnect approximately 77,240 households throughout the country to the electricity grid. As of Sunday evening, remedial work was still underway, with 36 teams of more than 100 electricians working to restore power to communities left without power.
“Strong winds and snow fell numerous trees over power lines and damaged conductors and insulators, causing temporary power outages”transmitted the Ministry of Energy. In hard-to-reach localities, power supply was provided temporarily through the use of generator sets.
At the national level, 85 localities were affected by power outages, and most of the problems were fixed as a result of the collaboration between operators in the energy sector and the teams of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, which made seven generating sets available.
However, the situation remains complicated in the following hours. According to the National Meteorological Administration (ANM), an orange code is in force until January 6, at 10:00 a.m., targeting quantitatively moderate precipitation, snow deposits, hail, wind intensification and blizzard in the mountain area, in the areas mentioned in the meteorological warning.
Bad weather code orange
Meteorologists announce that there will be temporary precipitation in most of the country, with amounts of water generally between 10 and 30 l/m2. In the mountains, snow will prevail, and the snow cover will be consistent, 20-50 centimeters. In the hilly areas, as well as in Transylvania and Maramureș, sleet and snow will prevail, with snow deposits of 5–15 centimeters.
In Banat, Oltenia, Muntenia and on limited areas in Crisana, Moldova and Dobrogea, mixed precipitation is forecast, and in some places, snow will form. The wind will intensify in the mountains, with gusts that can exceed 70–80 km/h, especially at high altitudes, temporarily blowing snow.
In this context, the Ministry of Energy warns that freezing rain and strong wind can make it difficult to intervene at a great height, on the tension poles, but the teams will remain mobilized until all the damages are completely resolved.
As for the National Energy System, the authorities assure that it operates within normal parameters and is not affected. Natural gas deposits are currently occupied in proportion to over 71%, a level considered sufficient to ensure supply security during the cold season.
