Iernut plant: first MW by end-2026, 430 MW in Q1 2027 — NRG-IA

Nearly ten years after the first contract was signed for the new Iernut gas-fired power plant, Romania once again has a concrete timeline for the 430 MW that should have already been available to the power grid. Romgaz estimates the plant will synchronize with the National Power Grid and deliver its first megawatts by the end of 2026, while Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan points to the first quarter of 2027 for full-capacity operations. This new timeline follows a radical shift in how the project is being completed. Instead of waiting for another general contractor to take over the site, Romgaz is directly coordinating the works and contracting the specialized firms that have already worked on the plant's various components. More than 30 such contracts have been concluded, and by mid-September, all necessary agreements are expected to become fully operational, providing the construction site with a complete work front once again. For Romania, the stakes go far beyond completing a delayed project. Iernut is set to bring 430 MW of dispatchable generation to the center of the country at a time when the government has just decided to temporarily extend the operation of several lignite-fired units at Craiova and Turceni, citing risks to grid adequacy, drought, high consumption, and the potential for limited imports during a regional crisis. A plant started in 2016 enters the final stretch once again The first contract for the new Iernut plant was signed in October 2016 with the Duro Felguera–Romelectro consortium. The turnkey project was supposed to be commissioned within a few years. However, deadlines were repeatedly extended, works remained unfinished, and the initial contract was terminated in 2021. Romgaz subsequently resumed the project through a new contract signed with Duro Felguera in 2023. This setup also failed to bring the plant to commissioning, and the contract was terminated again in October 2025 following the contractor's failure to meet its obligations. In February 2026, Romgaz reported a completion rate of approximately 98% for the overall turnkey project and about 90% for the new completion and commissioning contract . The difference between these percentages explains the apparent paradox of a project presented for years as nearly finished, yet still failing to produce the 430 MW for which it was built. In a combined-cycle power plant, the final percentage points do not just mean installing a few remaining pieces of equipment. The installations must be integrated into a single functional system, automation systems must be verified, equipment must be tested together, and the plant must be synchronized and commissioned under controlled conditions. Until these operations are completed, a physically 98% complete project can still have zero of the new plant's 430 MW commercially available to the grid . Romgaz becomes its own general contractor Following the second termination, the government changed the completion mechanism for Iernut in May 2026. The project was declared of major public interest, and Romgaz was granted the framework to directly coordinate the works and contract the services, products, and works required for completion, integration, testing, and commissioning. Instead of rebuilding the project around a new general contractor, Romgaz is attempting to directly reassemble the subcontractor network that is already familiar with the installations. This shift is now starting to become visible on site. According to Bolojan, over 30 contracts have already been signed with subcontractors who previously worked on the project, and some of these firms are already mobilized. The key intermediate milestone is mid-September 2026 , by which time the full work front required to complete the plant should be in place. If this stage is reached, the next milestone will be entering the actual testing phase in the winter of 2026–2027. First MW expected by the end of the year Romgaz CEO Răzvan Popescu indicated in August that the plant should be synchronized with the National Power Grid and inject its first megawatts by the end of 2026 . Bolojan presented a compatible timeline but separated the start of operations from reaching full capacity: the plant is expected to undergo testing this winter and operate at full capacity in the first quarter of 2027 . This distinction is essential. Completing construction does not automatically mean that 430 MW will suddenly appear in the system on December 31. Plants of this size undergo phased testing, synchronization, and trial runs before commercial operation at full capacity. The current timeline can be summarized as follows: a full work front in September, completion of works and first MW by the end of 2026, winter testing, and full-capacity operations targeted for Q1 2027. The 430 MW also matter because of where they are generated The new plant has a gross electrical capacity of 430 MW and a gross electrical efficiency at nominal load of approximately 56.4% ,…