On Tuesday 23 February, the European Commission approved €254 million in State Aid from Romania to support the upgrade of the district heating system of the municipality of Bucharest.
For the Executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager, responsible for Competition policy, this aid measure will help Romania “achieve its energy-efficiency targets and will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas and other pollutants emissions, without unduly distorting competition”.
The public aid will enable the rehabilitation of the distribution network (the pipelines transporting hot water to the main distribution points) of the district heating system in Bucharest.
The planned support will take the form of a direct grant financed by EU Structural Funds managed by Romania.
Bucharest’s district heating system is the largest in the EU, serving 1.2 million inhabitants (940 km of thermal pipes for the transmission system and 2,800 km of pipes for the distribution system).
The rehabilitation will consist in the replacement of sections of main hot water transmission pipelines for approximately 10% of the overall length of Bucharest’s district heating network. The project would not be financially viable without public support. The contribution of a grant from EU Structural Funds is needed to cover the financing gap of the project. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)