Thousands of romanian households, without electric power

About sixty thousand Romanian households from 2 100 counties are not provided electric power according to some information on the base of which, last year, the executive proposed the plan regarding the general electrification of Romania, having the ambitious term of putting it across until the end of the next year.

The most of the families that face this situation live in remote, rural areas in Harghita, Caraş Severin and Alba which, are the counties were most of the villages absolutely lack electrification as well as Vaslui, Botoşani, Braşov and Sibiu.

According to the Government's plan, the financial effort should be impaired between the electricity supplier, Electrica Company, which should spend 64 percent, and private electricity distributors which should spend thirty six per cent.

As for Electrica S.A., the investment would be about 200 million euros but company's spokesmen assert that the extension of the electric main in remote areas is troublesome and profitless.

The one hundred localities that are not provided electricity are located in hardly accessible areas in thirteen counties mostly in the East, the West or the center of the country.

Last year, Emil Boc, the Romanian Prime Minister, foresaw a very ambitious date, the end of 2012, for completely solving the issue.

The Electrica Company suggested using renewable energy resources

The classic method of supplying electric power by extending the electric main in the aforementioned areas seems troublesome.

Experts think that there are some alternatives.

Engineer Dumitru Federenciuc from Electrica Company offers a potential example.

There are some areas that have been provided with electricity by means of "credit suppliers".

What is this supposed to mean? Greenhouse equipment producers used to provide for some contractors the relative products and they said,"We want to built, to supply electricity to an area with two or three houses, a case which cannot be justified but between ten or twelve houses acquired all the equipment, built in the relative area, found a solution for providing electric power to those houses and worked for many years."

"There must be considered the best cost related solution which means that the farmer can ensure about his level. There are many people who say that they could afford a five to ten monthly expenditure. Imagine that the farmer might have some efficient bulbs, some refrigerators, TV and radio and he would feel better", the engineer stated.

Experts add that the issue regarding the plan of supplying electric mains for remote localities and villages must be regulated by the Government.

They remind about the need for the approval of a governmental decision which should envisage financial funds from pubic money, from employees associations or from subsidies that should grant poor customers the access to the electric mains.

The aforementioned should be added funds from local administrations from distribution operators themselves, from bank credits or from European funds.

Translated by: Cristina Anamaria Maricescu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University