In order to comply with the requirements of Article 22 of the European Directive EC/73/2009 on the obligation to draw up 10-year Development Plans for all European Union gas transmission system operators, SNTGN Transgaz SA Mediaș, as technical operator of the National Gas Transmission System in Romania, has drawn up the:
Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2020-2029
ANRE Decision No 2210/25.11.2020 on the approval of the Investment and Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2020-2029
Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2019-2028
ANRE Decision No.2080/11.12.2019 on the approval of the Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2019-2028
Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2018 - 2027
ANRE Decision No 1954/14.12.2018 on the approval of the Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2018-2027
Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2017 - 2026
ANRE Decision No 910/22.06.2017 on the approval of the Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2017-2026
Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2014 – 2023
ANRE Decision No 2819/17.12.2014 on the approval of the Development Plan of the National Gas Transmission System for the period 2014-2023
The documents present the development directions of the Romanian gas transmission network and the major projects that the company intends to implement over the following 10 years. The aim is to achieve a maximum degree of transparency regarding the development of the National Gas Transmission System in order to provide market players with early information on existing and planned transmission capacities so that, through public consultation, decisions on investments in the gas transmission network meet market requirements.
The 10-year National Gas Transmission System (NTS) Development Plans developed in accordance with the provisions of the Electricity and Gas Law no. 123/2012, as amended and supplemented, with the objectives proposed in the Romanian Energy Strategy, meets the requirements of European energy policy on:
ensuring security of gas supply;
increasing the degree of interconnection of the national gas transmission network to the European network;
increasing the flexibility of the national gas transmission network;
liberalisation of the gas market;
the creation of an integrated EU gas market;
ensuring the connection of third parties to the natural gas transmission system in accordance with the specific regulations, within the limits of the transmission capacities and in compliance with the technological regimes;
the extension of the pipeline network up to the entrance of localities certified as tourist resorts of national or local interest, respectively, when these localities are at a maximum distance of 25 km from the connection points of transmission system operators;
ensuring that new job-creating investments are connected to the gas network.
The European Commission presented on 11 December 2019 the "European Green Deal", the most ambitious package of measures containing actions meant to encourage resource efficiency by moving to a clean circular economy and to stop climate change, reverse biodiversity decline and reduce pollution. This Deal accelerates the achievement of the Paris Treaty targets on decarbonisation.
In recent years, hydrogen has become an increasingly attractive candidate for decarbonising the energy sector in line with the European Union's climate targets. Current studies show the benefit of decarbonisation under the hybrid energy system.
On 8 July 2020, the EU Energy Systems Integration Strategy and the Hydrogen Strategy were adopted at EU level. These will pave the way for a more efficient and interconnected energy sector, driven by the twin goals of a cleaner planet and a stronger economy. The two strategies set out a new agenda for clean energy investment, in line with the Commission's Next Generation EU economic recovery package and the European Green Deal.
In an integrated energy system, hydrogen can support the decarbonisation of industry, transport, power generation and buildings across Europe. The EU Hydrogen Strategy addresses how to turn its potential into reality through investment, regulation, market creation, research and innovation.
Stressing the importance of establishing a national strategy on Hydrogen, a strategy for the implementation of the European Green Deal, in the current European and national context, at the level of SNTGN Transgaz SA, the sustainable development strategy of the NTS for the coming years, requires a redefinition of the objectives, a reshaping of the development model so that it allows the implementation of the provisions of the European Green Deal.
The company's overall objectives in this area for the period 2021 to 2025 are to develop research into the possibility of accepting the hydrogen mix in the NTS and ways of introducing it into the NTS and to implement a strategy to upgrade and adapt the existing natural gas transmission infrastructure for the use of hydrogen and other green gases with a view to decarbonisation.