RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Romania’s Electrification

One of the largest-scale projects in Romania after 1945

Romania’s Electrification
Romania’s Electrification

, 14.05.2018, 13:34

Starting in the second half of the 18th century, light was the leitmotif of all modernization projects. In the vision of the social reformers, it lit the way out of ignorance for the masses kept there by religion and the Church. For this reason, the 18th century is called The Enlightenment. They were referring to a spiritual light brought by learning and literacy. In the 19th century, efforts turned towards technology in this endeavor. Electric lighting was considered the pinnacle, and Edisons light bulb radically changed the world.



The communist regime believed that electrification was the means by which humanity would climb a new rung on the ladder of civilization. One of Lenins slogans was Power in the hands of the Soviets and electrification of villages. When the communist regime took power in Romania on March 6, 1945, electrification became one of the main objectives that were supposed to bring it legitimacy. This was a very ambitious project, with a very important political component, which started being applied in the 1950s.



Engineer Tudor Constantin was the head of the Bucharest Electricity Plant, the largest producer of electricity. He was interviewed in 2003 by Radio Romanias Oral History Center. He spoke about the first electric dam, built in Bicaz:



The initial blueprint was made by professor Dorin Pavel and engineer Dimitrie Leonida, at their own expense, backpacking in the mountains. Engineer Leonida wanted to turn the Romanian worker into a cultured worker, a prestigious worker. He set up a school, called Engineer Leonidas School for Mechanics and Electricians, where he taught alongside his wife and two other professors. You could get there credentials similar to those you could get from the School of Electricians and Gas Workers or from the school of railroad engineers. You could get a job anywhere if you showed that diploma. When the electrification project started, I was working in the factory, and engineer Leonida told me: Young man, listen: Romania cannot get electrified as it is, without involvement from the state, like the Russians did. When the project ended, I got a decoration, the Order of Labor 2nd class, which I still have.”



Recovery from the war could only be accomplished by industrial development. Tudor Constantin told us about Romania’s strong technological suits before the electrification:



It started in the 1950s, when I was working at the Bucharest Electric Plant, I was the director. It was the largest in the country, and had the best engineers. Maybe the technology was not as advanced as it was in the West, but the engineers before the war were proud, they didnt work with poor technology. They picked equipment that was unique. For instance, the Filaret plant had 5,000 horse power Diesel engines, unique in Europe. Before the war, they had also acquired a 10,000 kW gas turbine, also unique. But then the war came, and they couldnt install it any more, they installed it after the war. I remember that the Russians wanted us to help them. We gave them the keys to where the Swiss blueprints were, they were stealing things, but we were stealing things too, we had to get things going. Such were the times.”



In addition to economic and social reasons, conceiving and applying such an ample project was only possible as a result of a political decision. Everything was supposed to be possible in a planned economy. Here is Tudor Constantin once again:



The party made this decision, which then went through the ministries, down to the factories and the experts. I was consulted, I was part of things when the electrification plan was issued, I was the head of the power plant. I remember there was a lot of infighting between the thermal plant engineers and hydro-electrical engineers. The disputes were around the type of plant that should be made first. Hydro-electrical engineers like Leonida said they should start with dams, the others said they should start with coal and gas plants. In the end, the party had to intervene to settle the issue. They said that hydroelectric dams were cheaper and more effective economically. The cost of energy made by a dam was three or four times less than that made by a thermal plant. However, it took longer to make a dam, and they said that the country could not wait. We needed to develop industry in the country, and had to build thermal plants, even though they were more expensive. In the end that was the solution, but they also continued with dams, starting to build the dam in Bicaz. However, electrification started with the thermal plants in Doicesti, in Moldavia, and in Targu Mures.”



The electrification project in Romania ended in 1970, and was considered a success. The energy sector developed and diversified, with a great part of energy being directed to the industrial sector.


(Translated by C. Cotoiu)

banner-Pro-Memoria.-960x540-1.jpg
The History Show Monday, 04 November 2024

The Spark(Scanteia) communist newspaper

The press was one of the communist regime’s most powerful weapons regarding propaganda. The freedom of expression and of the press was a right that...

The Spark(Scanteia) communist newspaper
RRI
The History Show Monday, 28 October 2024

Securitate and the KGB parting ways

The most feared institution of the Romanian communist state was the political police known as Securitate, created on the model of the NKVD, which...

Securitate and the KGB parting ways
Vasile Luca
The History Show Monday, 21 October 2024

Vasile Luca

From the end of World War II in 1945 until 1989, the Red Army imposed communist party regimes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. They...

Vasile Luca
Gheorghe Gheorghiu –Dej şi Petru Groza /
The History Show Monday, 14 October 2024

The Romanian Communist Party and the Agrarian Reform

According to the Marxist-Leninist theses about means of production, property had to be common, owned by all those who used it and created added...

The Romanian Communist Party and the Agrarian Reform
The History Show Monday, 07 October 2024

The Romanian military fleet in WWII

The history of the Romanian military fleet begins in the middle of the 19th century, when, after the union of the two principalities of Moldova and...

The Romanian military fleet in WWII
The History Show Monday, 30 September 2024

Ana Pauker

Ana Pauker is one of the most conspicuous figureheads in the history of the communist regime in Romania. Ana Pauker played a crucial part in the team...

Ana Pauker
The History Show Monday, 23 September 2024

Nicolae Titulescu and the Romanian diplomacy in Europe in the 1930s

  The diplomacies of countries that gravitate around the powerful ones, always have the mission of being one step ahead of events. They must...

Nicolae Titulescu and the Romanian diplomacy in Europe in the 1930s
The History Show Monday, 16 September 2024

The early days of BBC’s Romanian-language broadcasting

In the world of radio broadcasting, the BBC needs no introduction. The BBC is one of the landmarks without which the history of radio broadcasting...

The early days of BBC’s Romanian-language broadcasting

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company