PNL MEP Virgil Popescu announces that the closure of coal power plants in Oltenia has been postponed, but the future of the region relies on gas and renewable energy.

Virgil Popescu, MEP from PNL and former Minister of Energy, stated that the closure of the Turceni and Rovinari coal plants has been postponed, but the energy future of Oltenia is no longer in coal, but in gas and renewable sources. The European Commission has imposed that the postponement be conditional on the signing of contracts for gas plants, with a deadline in the fall of 2026.

Popescu emphasizes that this is the last postponement and that the gas projects, for which he obtained non-repayable funding of 2.66 billion euros, have been blocked, although they were ready. He highlighted that the Oltenia Energy Complex was in a critical situation when he took over his mandate, but he managed to obtain funds for its transformation. The current projects, which include photovoltaic parks and gas plants, are delayed, and each month of delay costs billions of euros.