European Investment Bank (EIB) : Romania receives 200 mln. euro for power grid modernization

Romania received the approval for a financing worth 200 million euro from the European Investment Bank (EIB), money that will be used for the modernization of the electricity distribution network, according to a press release of the financial institution .   “On its way to energy independence, Romania has a huge need for investments in electricity networks, which is why, in my capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank, I am happy to announce that I have approved at the EIB a financing in the amount of 200 million euros for our country, Romania thus takes another step towards achieving its goal of having a modern, solid and efficient electricity network, in order to become, thus, an energy independent country and a stability factor in the region,” said Mihai Precup, member of the EIB’s Board of Directors.   He stated that the financial institution he represents will co-finance a project that benefits from European funds and the beneficiary’s own resources.   The value of the investment is 629 million euros, of which the European Investment Bank finances 200 million euros, the remaining 295 million euros from European funds, and 134 million from own sources.   According to the quoted source, the EIB operation in favor of Romania refers mainly to the consolidation and renovation of Romania’s stations, substations and overhead lines in order to expand the electricity distribution capacities of its network, to facilitate the absorption and distribution of electricity from the installations generation from renewable sources and to reduce self-consumption.   The objective includes elements of the Carmen 1 project, a smaller sub-component of the overall operation (approximately 10-15% of the total investment of the operation) and a European Union (EU) regional and transnational Project of Common Interest (PCI) involving networks of electricity from both Bulgaria and Hungary.   Practically, the key purpose of the investment is the expansion of the connections from renewable sources to the networks and the improvement of the interconnection between the transmission and distribution networks in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.