Romania, Iernut gas-fired unit will not be completed before H2 2024

State Secretary at the Romanian Ministry of Energy Pavel-Casian Nitulescu said that gas-fired power plant in Iernut, developed by natural gas producer Romgaz, will not be completed before the second half of 2024.

This is the first time that a new deadline is mentioned. Last October, Romgaz Deputy CEO Aristotel Jude said that the company will complete the plant in 2023.

In November 2016, Romgaz has concluded an agreement worth 268 million euros (without VAT) with a consortium of Spanish company Duro Felguera and Romanian Romelectro for a turnkey project for the construction of new 430 MW gas- fired power plant within its Iernut thermal power plant. The deadline for the completion of the new combined cycle power plant is 36 months from the effective date of the contract, which shall be within 5 working days from the date the NIP financing is approved. Romgaz took over Iernut thermal power plant in 2013 from Bucharest- based thermal energy producer ELCEN in exchange for deleting a 145 million euros debt.

In late 2020, Romgaz said that it would not grant an extension of the deadline for the completion of the construction of a gas-fired unit at the existing TPP Iernut, which was proposed by project’s contractors – Spanish Duro Felguera and local Romelectro. The agreed deadline for the completion of the project expired on 26 December. The statement from Romgaz said that it will identify the necessary solutions to complete and commission the combined cycle unit at Iernut and will inform of its decision at a later date.

Initially, it was planned that the gas-fired unit will be commissioned by the end of 2020.