Delgaz Grid, the distribution company of the E.ON group in Romania, plans to invest a record 1.42 billion lei (282 million euros) from its own sources and EU funds, 17% more than in 2025.
Natural gas – investments of over 544 million lei (108 million euros) are planned. Natural gas pipelines and connections will be modernized over a length of 627 km. At the same time, to improve service quality, 15 regulation-metering stations will be modernized. The development of the natural gas distribution system and the connection of new consumers represent another priority, with funds planned for this year to expand the network by over 223 km.
Electricity – investments of 877 million lei (174 million euros) are planned, 26% more than the previous year. Investments target the continuation of automation and digitalization of the distribution system, SMART metering, modernization of overhead networks, substations, and transformer stations, expansion of the distribution network for connecting new consumers, and increasing the capacity of networks to absorb energy produced from renewable sources.
Projects with European funds – currently, there are 15 projects underway, with a total value of 436 million euros, of which 325 million euros is European financing.
The projects target SMART metering, transformer substation upgrades, construction of new substations, and grid upgrades at all voltage levels.
One of the most important projects, launched at the beginning of the year, is the electricity supply for the future Regional Emergency Hospital (SRU) Iași, a medical unit that will serve the inhabitants of the North-East Region of Romania. The investment value is approximately 145 million lei (29 million euros), of which about 120 million lei (24 million euros) comes from non-refundable European funding.
Another major distribution network development project, for which the financing agreement is planned for mid-year, is the CARMEN project, carried out in partnership with Transelectrica and ESO (transport operator) Bulgaria. The total value is 210 million euros, of which 104 million euros is European financing. The Delgaz Grid component is 79 million euros, of which approximately 40 million euros is a grant.
Smart metering – the installation of approximately 120,000 SMART meters is planned, with a target of 85% smart metering coverage by 2030.
The company is making every effort to minimize the discomfort caused by investment works, which ultimately aim to improve the natural gas and electricity distribution service for consumers, as well as to increase their safety.
Accomplishments of 2025
Last year, the company made investments of over 1.2 billion lei (approximately 241 million euros) in natural gas and electricity distribution networks, and for the current year, a record amount of 1.4 billion lei (282 million euros) is planned, 17% more than in 2025.
Supported by own sources and attracted European funds, the investments made in 2025 were over 165% higher compared to the average annual value in the 2010-2019 period (when they were around 90 million euros/year).
Investments exceeding 538 million lei (107 million euros) have been recorded in natural gas distribution, with 448 km of pipelines and gas connections modernized. The distribution network was expanded by 253 km, connecting 31,000 new consumers. Concurrently, in partnership with local authorities, natural gas distributions were established in 7 localities in the counties of Sibiu, Timiș, and Bacău, covering a total length of 84 kilometers.
Six natural gas regulation and metering stations have been upgraded – in the counties of Bacău, Caraș-Severin, Hunedoara, and Iași – which have led to an improvement in the quality of distribution service for consumers in the served areas.
Until last year, Delgaz Grid launched three pilot projects in the green gases sector for the first time: BioMethaneMix (aiming to obtain biomethane and inject it into distribution networks/usage facilities), BlendUp30 (testing the operating mode of natural gas distribution network equipment and existing usage appliances with hydrogen mixtures of 23%and 30v%), and HyGrid100 (using 100% hydrogen on a section of a natural gas network and new usage appliances).
In the electricity sector, the investment value was 674 million lei (134 million euros), with the distribution network being modernized over a length of 1,405 km and extended by 720 km. Approximately 36,500 new users were connected, of which 22,000 were consumers and 14,500 were prosumers.
Last year, the ADMS (Advanced Distribution Management System) project was completed with an investment of 84 million lei, of which 61 million lei was European funding. ADMS integrates into a unified digital platform the functionalities necessary for the operational command, scheduling, and operational planning processes of high, medium, and low voltage electricity distribution networks, down to the consumer level.
Smart Metering: By the end of 2025, 586,000 SMART meters had already been installed (approximately 80,000 installed last year), of which 525,000 are also integrated into the Smart Metering System (SMI). The MDM/MDC (Meter Data Management/Meter Data Collection Management) digital platform, with an integration capacity of 1,600,000 meters, provides support for the SMI.
Currently, 124 out of 130 transformer stations operated by Delgaz Grid are integrated into SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), along with 688 automated transformer substations in urban areas (70 of them in 2025). Additionally, over 2,031 remotely controlled devices integrated into SCADA (disconnectors and reclosers) are installed in medium voltage aerial networks, with 121 of them installed last year.
As a result of investments made year after year, Delgaz Grid is positioning itself as one of the highest-performing distribution operators, significantly improving key distribution service indicators. In the last 10 years, SAIDI (an indicator related to the duration of interruptions) has decreased more than sixfold, reaching 66.7 minutes in 2025 from 438.83 minutes in 2015, and SAIFI (an indicator related to the number of interruptions) has decreased approximately eightfold, reaching 0.72 last year from 5.89 in 2015.
Also, Delgaz Grid ranked first among distribution operators in Romania between 2021-2024, with the shortest duration of electricity supply interruptions, according to ANRE reports.