Liberty Galați risks being left without electricity in the coming days

Liberty Galați risks being disconnected from the electricity supply in the coming days, amid unpaid debts and the expiration of its contract with supplier Electrica. Management warns that an interruption in supply could shut down the entire steelworks platform and would also affect the welded-pipe section, the only one still operating at full capacity.

The supply contract, concluded in February for six months and subsequently extended by another month, was not renewed by Electrica. The steelworks is temporarily supplied through the Day-Ahead Market, but company representatives say that disconnection is imminent.

According to management, the systems could collapse within just a few hours, while restarting the platform would be a complex process that could take up to 50 days. Management also does not rule out the emergence of imbalances in the national energy system. Galați County Prefect George Toderașc announced that he had informed the Government about the social and technological risks.

In this context, more than one hundred employees protested on Friday in front of the Galați Prefecture. The steelworkers are complaining about unpaid salaries since May and are calling for access to the Guarantee Fund, as well as for the sale of the steelworks to be expedited. Starting November 1, most of the approximately 2,200 employees are expected to enter technical unemployment, with only the staff needed for security and the preservation of the installations remaining at work.

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