Several power units of Cuchurgan Station will be incorporated into Romania’s energy system

A number of the power units of the Cuchurgan Station will be separated from the Moldovan energy system and connected to Romania’s energy system following an agreement signed in Chisinau by the Russian company Inter RAO UES, which owns the plant, and Moldova’s state-owned Moldelectrica, Info-Prim Neo reports. The agreement on the separation of the energy blocks from the Moldovan State Cuchurgan Station for “radial work with Romania’s energy system” stipulates the technical conditions concerning power supplies to Romania. Crossborder supplies to Romania are now limited because the energy systems of Moldova and Romania are in different synchronous zones. To solve the problem, it was decided to separate one or several power units from Moldova’s energy system and incorporate them into the Romanian system. Initially, the power units of the Cuchurgan Station will be connected to the Romanian high tension power lines Vulcanesti-Isaccea. This will make it possible to increase electricity supplies to Romania to 400 megawatt or about 290 million kilowatt/hour a month. Over the first six months of this year, Romania’s power imports from the Cuchurgan Station totaled about 18.5 million dollars, up 2.3 times compared with the corresponding period last year. During this period, the station supplied to Romania about 95% of the exported electricity. The Cuchurgan Station started to export electric power to Romania in July 2007 through the Vulcanesti-Isaccea power lines. According to the National Agency for Energy Regulation of Moldova, on June 4, this year the Cuchurgan Station began to export power through two more lines. Therefore, the power supplies to Romania could nearly double. The Cuchurgan Station has 12 generators with an installed capacity of 2,520 megawatts. Only half of them are serviceable. The plant can produce electricity using natural gas, crude oil and coal. Three power units now work at the station. After purchasing a 49% holding from a Hungarian company in July this year, Inter RAO UES owns 100% of the shares in the Cuchurgan Station.