THE "ENERGY PLUGGED IN" CONFERENCE, 2ND EDITION / SILVIA VLĂSCEANU, FEDERATION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF UTILITY COMPANIES (ACUE): "We need to have demand for the energy generated in the newly designed capacities"

Romania needs an urgent energy strategy, but before it gets completed, several documents should be drafted, including an industrial strategy and one for competitiveness, says Silvia Vlăsceanu, the executive director of the Federation of the Association of Utility Companies (ACUE), who expressed the hope that the legislative provisions in the energy sector will be predictable and will give businesspeople confidence in investing in Romania.

He talked about the manner in which we could fulfill the obligations that we have when it comes to the EU in the field of energy efficiency. In the opinion of Mrs. Vlăsceanu, the degree of energy efficiency can increase through a careful consumption of energy.

"Before we consider building new production capacities, we need to be aware of the fact that consumers for this energy should exist as well. We consume as much as we produce, and we already have consumption secured", the ACUE official said.

Silvia Vlăsceanu emphasized the fact that the reduction of the energy consumption is a measure that is also included in the obligations of the ACUE members that distribute and supply energy, which must cut their consumption by 1.5% every year. The use of the performing equipment represents a method of stimulating consumption efficiently, he says. Romania currently must apply in the domestic legislation the Directive concerning energy efficiency. The Directive which regulates the thermal rehabilitation of the buildings is currently in the process of implementation. The new directive requires the drawing up of a national action plan, which also includes a component concerning the rehabilitation of public buildings. EU member states are required to start the works this year on the thermal insulation of public buildings, which were found to be the ones that account for the bulk of energy losses (40%).

A preliminary report of the European Union this year shows that the reduction of the energy consumption was only achieved in a proportion of 15-16% and that the 20% target set for 2020 is very hard to reach.

Under these circumstances, in order to accelerate the measures which the member states need to take, the EU adopted the new Directive concerning energy efficiency.