Disruptions on the Romanian energy market

After a week of strike, the miners from the Oltenia Energy Complex in southern Romania have gone back to work, but the energy market has been disrupted

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Bogdan Matei, 18.01.2019, 16:03

With the first snow falling as early as November and hit by lower temperatures than in previous winters, Romania has suffered from a different kind of cold shiver this month when the miners from the Oltenia Energy Complex in the Jiu coal mining area went on strike. The miners were on strike for almost a week, unhappy with their low salaries. A group of the Rovinari thermal power plant was closed down following the diminution of the coal reserves before the local Gorj county court ruled that the strike was illegal and had to stop.

The management of the company say the losses amounted to some 3.2 million euros a day. Overall, the national energy system produced less than was needed for consumption so Romania continued to import energy. After negotiations with the energy minister Anton Anton, the leaders of the striking miners obtained salary rises and holiday vouchers for all employees. The minister also promised that he would try to eliminate the 2% turnover tax for coal-based energy producing companies. The tense situation in the Jiu Valley was also discussed in the government’s Thursday meeting.

The presentation of the coal stocks compared with last year, a detailed analysis of the miners’ incomes and working conditions and concrete solutions to modernise the Oltenia Energy Complex were some of the measures taken by prime minister Viorica Dancila.

Moreover, the government’s control body will again be conducting checks at the site. Two similar checks done last year resulted in the involvement of the criminal investigation bodies. The prime minister also called on the institutions in the field of national security to investigate the speculations circulating on the energy market following the situation at Oltenia.

Viorica Dancila: “The situation at the Oltenia Energy Complex was brought to our attention yesterday, with unacceptable and suspicious delay. This morning we requested information from all national security bodies about this extremely serious situation and the verification of the information circulating in the public space about purchases of energy from other countries at very high prices, so that we should know clearly if there is any connection between this deadlock and some people’s wish to make speculations at the expense of the Romanian people.”

The price of electricity on the stock market has fluctuated dramatically in recent days, skyrocketing during the strike to reach one of the highest levels in Europe and dropping by 26% when the strike ended. The prime minister has promised to take the necessary decisions as soon as she receives all the data, so that the security and functioning of the national energy system should not be affected. (Translated by Bogdan Matei)