Romania plans €30‑40 bn energy upgrades to become regional gas hub

Romanian officials said the country needs €30‑40 billion of investment to modernise its power‑grid and transport infrastructure and to turn Romania into a regional hub for Black Sea gas. At the FOREN 2026 conference, UDMR deputy Bende Sándor warned that the current low level of energy consumption reflects an under‑developed economy and called for EU funding to upgrade transport and distribution networks. Transgaz director Ion Sterian highlighted that more than €3 billion has already been spent on pipelines such as the Black Sea‑Podișor line and the BRUA corridor, preparing the system for up to a billion cubic metres of additional gas in the next winter and for a vertical corridor that could double transport capacity to about 9.4 billion m³ per year.

Transelectrica director Virgiliu Ivan stressed that human‑resource shortages are a critical bottleneck. He noted that about 1,000 MW of new generation capacity was approved for connection in a single month, while the company allocated over 900 million RON this year – half from European funds – to transmission projects. Ivan warned that without enough qualified staff, billions of euros of planned investments cannot be delivered, even though Romania can complete transmission lines in roughly ten years, faster than the European average.