Romania ‘can gain up to EUR 7 billion from energy efficiency’

Newsroom 18/03/2013 | 06:39

Improving efficiency across the entire energy chain, from the generation of assets to transport and end consumers, would see Romania add between EUR 5 and 7 billion to the economy through to 2020, accounting for 4 to 6 percent of GDP, stated the Romanian Association for Promoting Energy Efficiency (ARPEE) last week.

Romania could cut its energy consumption by the equivalent of around 11.7 million tons of petrol by 2025 by harnessing energy efficiency, added ARPEE.

“The potential is big and needs to be addressed. Companies are ready to make these investments, because the benefits are substantial,” said Bogdan Belciu, partner, management consulting services, at professional services firm PwC Romania, one of the founding members of ARPEE. He added that Romanian households and companies need to consume energy more efficiently given that prices are expected to go up on the medium term, due to the deregulation of the market and new investments.

Gilles Humbert, president of ARPEE and Dalkia Romania, stated that Romania spends 2.5 times more energy to generate a GDP unit than the EU average.

The president said the association’s main priority was to provide concrete suggestions regarding the adoption of an EU directive on energy efficiency into Romanian law.