♦ Romania must unlock investments in networks ♦ E.ON Romania is currently running 15 projects with European funds, with a total value of 430 million euros.
The energy sector in Romania urgently needs investments in networks, after many production capacities have been developed in recent years, especially in the renewable segment, which has led to the appearance of network congestion, according to Volker Raffel, CEO of E.ON Romania. In addition to large investors, the network must now also accommodate prosumers, whose number is also increasing. «The regulatory framework does not allow a sufficient volume of investments and this topic must be discussed because it would be a shame to slow down economic development in Romania by blocking investments in distribution networks», said Volker Raffel at the ZF Power Summit 2026 conference. A problem he pointed out concerns the delays that appear in the payments made by the Ministry of Energy for projects with European funds, through the Modernization Fund, a situation that creates financial difficulties for developers. «There are very precise deadlines, when the amounts must be paid, but they are not respected. The European money is available, but the payments are not made. It has become a commercial risk for us to implement a project with European funds.» E.ON Romania is currently running 15 projects with European funds, with a total value of 430 million euros, and in total the group has invested 2.2 billion euros in the 20 years since it has been present on the local market. The flagship companies are Delgaz Grid (2.6 billion lei business in 2024) and E.ON Energie Romania (8 billion lei business in 2024), with electricity and natural gas distribution activities for 3.6 million customers, respectively providing energy and energy solutions for around 3.5 million customers. Considering the discussions related to energy prices, and in the context of market liberalization this year, Volker Raffel believes that Romania has higher costs than other countries because not enough investments were made in the past. However, the good news is that they are being made now and there is new production on the market. «This means that the price in Romania will soon return to a more acceptable level, if all these capacities are well connected and reach the market. I think that, in terms of production, we are somehow on the right track, if Neptun-Deep, Mintia and these renewable projects become operational. If the investments are made, you arrive at a fair price.» But, beyond production, prices also depend on distribution, CEO E.ON Romania pointing out that if infrastructure investments are not completed, if European funds are blocked, then production capacities that are not well connected will appear on the market.»The networks are in traffic jams and if you build a few hundred new megawatts, but we don’t connect properly, it’s a shame».