Romania’s Hidroelectrica testing 200 MW hydropower plants on Olt River under pumped regime

21 August 2026 Romanian hydropower group Hidroelectrica announced it has begun testing the pumped regime of its hydropower plants on Olt River, which have a total capacity of 200 MW. Using the hydropower plants under reversible regime was tested twelve years ago, when the company’s management concluded insufficient economic benefits. The first of the five such units has been tested under the reversed regime on August 20, as the storage capacity becomes increasingly important as more intermittent renewable generation is added. Hidroelectrica has in its portfolio, on the Olt, five hydropower plants that can operate in a reversible, pump-turbine system, with a total capacity of 200 MW. Following the technological tests conducted on August 20, it was concluded that the operation of the hydropo