The Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, claims that the representatives of the Capital City Hall did not submit any project in the call for district heating networks.
Sebastian Burduja accuses Nicușor Dan of lying Photo: Archive
“I would like to make a clarification, because yesterday (Wednesday, May 20, 2024, no) there was a misinformation of the public opinion, namely the general mayor Nicusor Dan said on a television station, at a prime time, that the Municipality Bucharest submitted two projects of 50 million euros each for this call (heating system modernization, no. I have, of course, checked this information with my colleagues and I can tell you that it is a lie. No project was submitted by the Municipality of Bucharest. I don't understand how you can afford to lie like this. Moreover, since the launch of the call announced at the beginning of my mandate and until today, the Municipality of Bucharest has not prepared any project and has not submitted anything. If he has submitted it, I am waiting for him to present us with proof, because we have extracted all the documents from the SMIS project submission portal and, of course, that Bucharest has not submitted anything. What do I mean by that? I want to mobilize the local authorities from all over the country, those that have heating systems, to come and submit projects, because the money will run out. If today we are talking about one billion lei, so 200 million euros, the Suceava project means another 70 million, we have finished more than half of the money. At least in the case of Bucharest, where this is the most painful problem for the citizens, because they do not have heat and hot water for so many months, the administration, unfortunately, was not able to prepare any project. Probably, the money will run out for other beneficiaries in the country as well“, claimed Burduja.
According to the responsible minister, regarding the projects in Craiova, Constanţa and Cluj-Napoca, these local administrations quickly submitted the documentation.
“We are talking about a call that was launched on February 1 this year. It is an important call, with a total budget of 590 million euros. The rule is “First come, first served”. So, the local authorities that moved quickly, that had dynamism, were able to access these funds exactly in the order in which they submitted the applications. In total, we are only talking about those of today, with a total value of the projects of 192 million euros, so almost one billion lei from the Modernization Fund. The non-refundable contribution is almost 700 million lei, so about 70% is covered by non-refundable funds. There is a beautiful project in Craiova, 235 million lei, in Constanţa 248 million lei and in Cluj-Napoca 353 million lei“, said the official, according to Agerpres.
The financing contracts intended for the three municipalities are part of the call related to Key Program 5 – High-efficiency cogeneration and the modernization of heating networks – Support for the modernization and construction of high-efficiency cogeneration plants and the modernization of heating networks.
The Ministry of Energy announced, on Thursday, in a press release, the publication of a new Guide related to the state aid scheme, through which capacity development projects for the gas production of electricity and thermal energy can be financed with almost 362 million euros in high efficiency cogeneration (CHP) in the district heating sector.
The total budget allocated to the call amounts to 361.950 million euros. The money comes from the Modernization Fund – through Key Program 5: High Efficiency Cogeneration and Modernization of Heating Networks.
The value of the state aid is 100% of the additional net cost (financing deficit), which must be determined by comparing the profitability of the factual scenario with that of the counterfactual scenario.
State aid granted for projects aimed at investments in energy-efficient central heating and cooling systems will only be granted if they have a stimulating effect and respect the principle of starting the works, the Ministry of Energy stated.
Burduja: The Mayor General is lying to us
The PNL candidate for the Capital's City Hall stated, on Wednesday, also in a televised interview that the mayor of the Capital lied and that in fact he would not have submitted any project on the funding line opened by the Ministry of Energy.
“There are 590 million euros in the heating call launched 5 months ago, the rehabilitation of the pipes, exactly what Bucharest needs, for which Bucharest has not submitted any project even today. Others have submitted. So the general mayor is also lying to us, this very evening on another prime-time television, that he has submitted a project. I checked with my colleagues, he didn't submit any project, so I'm asking him to come clean and actually admit that he lied,” said Sebastian Burduja, at Digi 24.
Nicușor Dan: I submitted two projects
The statement comes after Nicusor Dan said in a televised interview that a DEPOSIT “two projects of 50 million euros”.
“This is the strict responsibility of the ministry company. In Bucharest, we have shared heating between production, which is 97% of Elcen. Regarding the program from the Ministry, we also submitted two projects of 50 million euros each, because that was, as the guide was made, the maximum amount. I had some objections and I also spoke with you, because we have half of the centralized system, we have 550,000 apartments, as there are in the rest of the country. We have three big projects, one of 400 million euros and two of 100 million euros. Assuming we win that 50 million euros, we will have to borrow for the rest. I didn't even submit the big project, worth 400 million euros”, said Nicușor Dan on Romania TV.
According to Romania TV, Nicusor Dan contradicted Sebastian Burduja who said, on Tuesday, on this television station, that the Ministry of Energy has a grant program for the modernization of the heating system, which Bucharest would not have accessed.
