Transelectrica, Romania’s national transmission and system operator, together with its partners Delgaz Grid, the electricity and natural gas distribution company and part of the E.ON Romania group, and ESO (Electricity System Operator), the energy transmission operator in Bulgaria, has secured total funding of approximately €207 million for the CARMEN Smart Grid Project. The agreement was signed with representatives of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, in the presence of high-level participants from the European Commission.

Of the project’s total value of approximately €207 million, European funding accounts for roughly €104 million, provided through the European Commission’s ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ program, which supports Projects of Common Interest; the remaining amount will be covered by the three partners using their own funds.

Of the total project value, Delgaz Grid’s share amounts to €77.5 million, of which nearly €39 million consists of non-reimbursable European funds. Transelectrica’s share amounts to €70.7 million, of which nearly €35.4 million consists of non-reimbursable European funds, while ESO’s share is €59.3 million, of which €29.6 million consists of non-reimbursable funds.

The signing ceremony for the financing agreement took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the sidelines of the 12th Energy Infrastructure Forum held on May 21–22, one of Europe’s most important events dedicated to energy infrastructure. This moment holds special significance, marking European-level recognition of the Project’s strategic importance for the region’s energy future.

The event was attended by Dan Jannik Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, alongside representatives of partner companies from Romania and Bulgaria: Volker Raffel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delgaz Grid; Daniela Mocanu, Director of European Affairs at Transelectrica; and Kiril Georgiev, CEO of ESO Bulgaria.

“CARMEN is the first Project of Common Interest in the Smart Grids thematic area to secure funding for the development and modernization of transmission and distribution networks in Romania. We have taken a very important step in implementing this strategic project, both for our companies and for the energy systems of the two countries. The project will directly contribute to increasing the grids’ capacity to integrate distributed energy. In this way, we are supporting renewable energy producers, future prosumers, and, equally, end consumers of electricity,” said Volker Raffel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delgaz Grid.

“Securing European funding for the CARMEN project underscores the importance of developing smart energy infrastructure at the regional and European levels. For Transelectrica, this project represents a step toward accelerating the digitization of the power transmission grid, increasing the capacity to integrate energy from renewable sources, and strengthening energy security. Through close collaboration between transmission and distribution operators in Romania and Bulgaria, we are working together to build a more flexible, resilient, and better-prepared interconnected grid capable of meeting the challenges of the energy transition. I congratulate those who made this project possible from a technical standpoint, but equally those who made securing this funding possible!”, noted Stefanita Munteanu, Chairman of the Executive Board of the National Power Grid Company Transelectrica.

“In Bulgaria, the modernization of the power transmission grid under this project aims to increase its capacity in the northeast of the country, to harness the potential for green electricity generation, and to ensure the transmission of energy from renewable sources along the priority North–South corridor. The project represents a top-priority investment for the company and a continuation of efforts to address the challenges of the transforming energy sector. The investments made under the CARMEN project will help strengthen grid stability and increase transmission infrastructure capacity in Southeast Europe, to integrate the growing share of new zero-emission generation capacity. European funding will enable the modernization of the grid so that it can adequately meet the electricity demand for clean mobility, data centers, and the deployment of green hydrogen production technologies. The implementation of the project will promote cross-border cooperation between Bulgaria and Romania, as well as with neighboring countries,” underlined Kiril Georgiev, CEO of ESO, Bulgaria’s transmission and system operator.

The Project of Common Interest CARMEN aims to develop a smart transmission and distribution network in order to improve the quality of services provided to customers and to make investments that ensure compliance with mandatory performance standards through the modernization and digitization of the electricity infrastructure.

 

Project objectives

  • Modernizing and digitizing transmission and distribution grids to increase their stability and capacity to integrate energy generated from renewable energy sources (RES);
  • Improving cross-border cooperation in the energy markets of Romania and Bulgaria by eliminating grid congestion and increasing interconnection capacity;
  • Increasing the flexibility, stability, and security of the energy supply by implementing advanced smart grid solutions, such as Dynamic Line Rating (DLR), FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems) devices, and real-time monitoring systems;
  • Strengthening coordination between transmission and system operators (TSOs) and distribution and system operators (DSOs) by implementing digital platforms and data exchange systems to improve voltage control, congestion management, and system operation;
  • Supporting the EU’s climate and energy objectives by contributing to decarbonization, energy efficiency, and the development of a resilient and future-proof electricity system.

As part of the CARMEN project, investments will be made in all six counties where Delgaz Grid operates the electricity distribution grid (Bacău, Botoșani, Iași, Neamț, Suceava, and Vaslui), with a focus on modernizing, automating, and digitizing the grid.

 

About Delgaz Grid

Delgaz Grid, the distribution company of the German E.ON Group, operates a natural gas network of approximately 27,000 km across 20 counties in northern and western Romania (Cluj, Bistrita-Nasaud, Maramures, Satu Mare, Salaj, Timis, Arad, Bihor, Caras-Severin, Hunedoara, Mures, Sibiu, Alba, Harghita, Iasi, Botosani, Vaslui, Suceava, Neamt, and Bacau) and an electricity network of over 65,000 km in six counties in Moldavia region: Bacau, Botosani, Iasi, Neamt, Suceava, and Vaslui, serving over 3.6 million customers. Since entering the local market in 2005, E.ON has invested over €2.7 billion, primarily in the modernization of natural gas and electricity grids, and has paid €4.2 billion in taxes and duties to the government.

 

About Transelectrica

The National Power Grid Company Transelectrica is the only transmission and system operator in Romania, playing a key role in the region’s electricity market, responsible for managing and operating the system, as well as ensuring electricity exchanges between Romania and the countries with which it is interconnected in Central and Eastern Europe, as a member of ENTSO-E. Transelectrica, a company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, manages a power transmission grid consisting of 81 electrical substations and over 9,000 kilometers of high-voltage overhead lines. The company is implementing a 10-year Power Grid Development Plan with a budget of approximately €2 billion.

 

About ESO

Bulgaria’s independent transmission operator manages and maintains over 15,000 km of power lines and 297 substations. The power system operator and its experts are driven by a desire to optimize the operation of the country’s power transmission grid through the implementation of development, modernization, and expansion projects, including the construction of new facilities. The objective of the transmission operator’s investment policy is to ensure the efficient and high-quality operation of the Bulgarian power system.

ESO is responsibly involved in the modernization and rehabilitation of Bulgaria’s power transmission grid and in the construction of new facilities to develop the trans-European infrastructure. ESO is actively working to digitize the transmission grid by investing in the expansion of its automation. Through a coordinated partnership with transmission and system operators in neighboring countries and through its work as a responsible member of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), ESO makes a significant contribution to the quality management of the transmission grid and the interconnectivity of the Bulgarian power system.