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Power transmission and distribution networks need EUR 10 billion investment
Electricity transmission and distribution networks needs investments of more than EUR 10 billion to replace infrastructure with an outdated life, according to a press release by the Association of Energy Utilities Companies (ACUE).
ACUE believes that the Government’s decision to increase the ROI of invested capital is a message addressed to electricity and natural gas transmission and distribution operators to invest in networks and diversify their investment programs.
“For transport and distribution operators, the realization of planned investments is a permanent concern for reducing technological losses, increasing network efficiency and improving the performance of distribution services, all for the benefit of customers. According to the ACUE estimates, distribution networks require a an investment effort of more than EUR 10 billion in the long run to replace the infrastructure with an outdated life, in order to reduce the gap with the EU average,” says the press release.
The electricity and natural gas transmission and distribution sector still needs substantial investments, constantly being made, for the modernization and expansion of the networks, as well as for the improvement of the quality of the services provided to consumers, as presented in the Romanian Energy Strategy, ongoing document approval, the ACUE officials say.
“The importance of the electricity and natural gas distribution sector is also evidenced by a study by the PwC in 2018 showing that it has a gross added value in GDP of about RON 12.9 billion (about EUR 2.8 billion), which is 1.42 percent of GDP, and one job in this sector supports 3-4 other jobs in the economy,” said the press release.
The government approved at Friday’s meeting the increase in the regulated profit margin from 5.6 percent to 6.9 percent for distribution operators.