We are very good in terms of relationships, we are a little behind in investments, which is strange and bad, because we are sitting on a lot of money – almost 15 billion euros, – said the former Minister of Energy Rezvan Nicolescu at a conference organized by the Governance course.

If this money is spent wisely, we can easily attract another 30 billion,” said Rezvan Nicolescu. According to the ex-minister, the process of rejuvenating the management and executive class in the administration, as well as dialogue and relations with the private sector, is very important.

“Involvement of the new generation is mandatory. If we don’t do this, we can do a dacha project in this room in 2 weeks. But what should we do with it if it is not realized? Our implementation potential is even less effective than our ability to implement strategy,” Nicolescu believes.

What else did Rezvan Nikolescu say:

• What do we have in good energy? First, we have, I would say, a glorious past. The first officially registered oil-producing country in the world. Timisoara is the first city in the world with centralized public lighting. Bucharest, the first capital in the world with centralized public lighting. Unbelievable. An absolutely glorious past that allows us to build a brand in this area.

• What else do we have? A decent gift I would say. With all the mistakes, with all the failures, we are in second place, also according to Eurostat, with the least dependence in the EU on the import of resources. Currently, 24% of our energy balance is renewable energy. No one else in Central and Eastern Europe has such a thing. No one in Europe has such low per capita emissions as Romania. We rank 4th in the world in terms of economic growth relative to emissions growth. So we have a decent present, I would say, which allows us to build the future.

• What do we need to do in this area in the future? First of all, a strategic decision is needed, the whole philosophy on which the Romanian energy sector was based was “through our own forces”. This is how the sector was designed so that we produce enough energy to meet our needs, whatever they may be. We have to think: are we continuing this philosophy or are we changing?

• If we follow the same philosophy, we should be very careful with relationships, because during relationships practically needs and preferences are combined with others. There are also obligations as EU countries regarding the connection, I’m not talking about fulfilling these obligations, I’m talking about exceeding these obligations. At the moment, we have very good connections, we are a little behind in investments.

• And it is strange and bad that we stand behind the investments, because we are sitting on a pile of money – almost 15 billion euros of European funds at the disposal of the energy industry. This means that if this money is spent wisely, we can easily attract another 30 billion. So, a total of €45 billion is available to the energy sector. Well, we can install thousands of MW. And in photovoltaics, and in wind, and in atomic energy, and in what we want.

• But we must be able to spend this money, and it depends only on us. What should we do? From my point of view, we would need 100-150 people. In the management of state-owned companies, in the management of institutions, there are honest people who do their job. I would be happy if among these 150 people more than half were entrepreneurs, I would be happy if possible if more than half were women – I think that women in Romania, unfortunately for us men, are more efficient and more honest than men And I would like 30% of these 150 people to be from the generation of, I don’t know, David Popovich… the generation of 20-30 years old, a generation with a different mentality.

• During the months that I was in the ministry, I tried to do that, to involve the youth. It was the most pleasant surprise, I brought about 20… We abolished all age criteria in competitions for filling vacant positions in the ministry. They came, I would say about 20 – some performed immediately, some started performing after a few months, others probably would never have performed, but the changes were noticeable. A few months after I left they also left, most of them had to leave because they were a “color spot”.

• Educating a new generation is a must. If we don’t do this, we can do a dacha project in this room in 2 weeks. But what should we do with it if it is not implemented? Our ability to execute is even less effective than our ability to achieve strategy.

• I’ll come back and emphasize once again the role of the private sector in the last two years. The largest investor in the Romanian energy sector is the so-called prosumers. Hundreds of SMEs, hundreds of people who install photovoltaic panels in their halls, houses, yards. They have invested over €350 million in over 350 MW already installed in Romania.

• I repeat, there are 3 big challenges in energy. Prices – here I would say that we are on average in Europe, but we could be better, with better organization, especially in the part of state-owned companies. Green side, we are the best in the region, we need to start talking about it.

• We have a paradox: I think in Europe, according to my calculations, we have the most PhDs in public positions, but also the smallest budget allocated to innovation and research.