Establishing Legal <i>Force Majeure</i> Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event

Petre Roman; Diana Maria Bucur; Georgiana Dunca

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16

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Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event

Petre Roman, Diana Maria Bucur, Georgiana Dunca

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 9, Issue 6)

Received: 26 November 2021 Accepted: 20 December 2021 Published: 29 December 2021

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Abstract

The management of water resources and specifically the energy supply from hydropower systems are strongly affected by drought events. This paper is devoted to the unfolding of legal consequences caused by an extreme hydrological drought event. The legal litigation occurred when – due to a severe deficit of water – the hydropower company that manages the hydro energy resources over the entire territory of Romania was unable to deliver the amount of electricity stipulated in the power purchase agreements. The studypresents an extensive statistical analysis of extreme hydrological drought events occurrence, using the threshold level method. The statistical analysis was applied on large historical records of the flow rates (50-90 years) and revealed the occurrence of extreme drought events, i.e. extremely low occurrence frequency phenomena. The characteristics of the historical data were studied to highlight the area where the forecast normally used in the hydro generation planning is not possible. In order to evaluate the occurrence of extreme drought phenomena, the natural monthly and annually flows of the Danube and other seven major interior rivers in Romania (Argeș, Bistrița, Olt, Lotru, Sebeș, Someș, Siret and Raul Mare) were analyzed, reflecting fairly a general picture of the flow distribution on the entire territory. The analyzed cases refer to periods when – due to a severe deficit of water – the Romanian hydropower company was unable to generate electricity according to the power purchase agreements (PPA). The results of the statistical analysis were further used as the base for the legal cases that confirmed the force majeure situations claimed by the hydropower company.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 9, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16
Page(s)	201-213
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Water Resources, Extreme Drought, Unpredictability, Statistical Analysis

References

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APA Style

Petre Roman, Diana Maria Bucur, Georgiana Dunca. (2021). Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 9(6), 201-213. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16

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ACS Style

Petre Roman; Diana Maria Bucur; Georgiana Dunca. Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2021, 9(6), 201-213. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16

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AMA Style

Petre Roman, Diana Maria Bucur, Georgiana Dunca. Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2021;9(6):201-213. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16,
  author = {Petre Roman and Diana Maria Bucur and Georgiana Dunca},
  title = {Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {9},
  number = {6},
  pages = {201-213},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20210906.16},
  abstract = {The management of water resources and specifically the energy supply from hydropower systems are strongly affected by drought events. This paper is devoted to the unfolding of legal consequences caused by an extreme hydrological drought event. The legal litigation occurred when – due to a severe deficit of water – the hydropower company that manages the hydro energy resources over the entire territory of Romania was unable to deliver the amount of electricity stipulated in the power purchase agreements. The studypresents an extensive statistical analysis of extreme hydrological drought events occurrence, using the threshold level method. The statistical analysis was applied on large historical records of the flow rates (50-90 years) and revealed the occurrence of extreme drought events, i.e. extremely low occurrence frequency phenomena. The characteristics of the historical data were studied to highlight the area where the forecast normally used in the hydro generation planning is not possible. In order to evaluate the occurrence of extreme drought phenomena, the natural monthly and annually flows of the Danube and other seven major interior rivers in Romania (Argeș, Bistrița, Olt, Lotru, Sebeș, Someș, Siret and Raul Mare) were analyzed, reflecting fairly a general picture of the flow distribution on the entire territory. The analyzed cases refer to periods when – due to a severe deficit of water – the Romanian hydropower company was unable to generate electricity according to the power purchase agreements (PPA). The results of the statistical analysis were further used as the base for the legal cases that confirmed the force majeure situations claimed by the hydropower company.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event
AU  - Petre Roman
AU  - Diana Maria Bucur
AU  - Georgiana Dunca
Y1  - 2021/12/29
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 201
EP  - 213
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16
AB  - The management of water resources and specifically the energy supply from hydropower systems are strongly affected by drought events. This paper is devoted to the unfolding of legal consequences caused by an extreme hydrological drought event. The legal litigation occurred when – due to a severe deficit of water – the hydropower company that manages the hydro energy resources over the entire territory of Romania was unable to deliver the amount of electricity stipulated in the power purchase agreements. The studypresents an extensive statistical analysis of extreme hydrological drought events occurrence, using the threshold level method. The statistical analysis was applied on large historical records of the flow rates (50-90 years) and revealed the occurrence of extreme drought events, i.e. extremely low occurrence frequency phenomena. The characteristics of the historical data were studied to highlight the area where the forecast normally used in the hydro generation planning is not possible. In order to evaluate the occurrence of extreme drought phenomena, the natural monthly and annually flows of the Danube and other seven major interior rivers in Romania (Argeș, Bistrița, Olt, Lotru, Sebeș, Someș, Siret and Raul Mare) were analyzed, reflecting fairly a general picture of the flow distribution on the entire territory. The analyzed cases refer to periods when – due to a severe deficit of water – the Romanian hydropower company was unable to generate electricity according to the power purchase agreements (PPA). The results of the statistical analysis were further used as the base for the legal cases that confirmed the force majeure situations claimed by the hydropower company.
VL  - 9
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Petre Roman

Department of Hydraulics, Hydraulic Machinery and Environment Engineering, Faculty of Energy Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Diana Maria Bucur

Department of Hydraulics, Hydraulic Machinery and Environment Engineering, Faculty of Energy Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Georgiana Dunca

Department of Hydraulics, Hydraulic Machinery and Environment Engineering, Faculty of Energy Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

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APA Style

Petre Roman, Diana Maria Bucur, Georgiana Dunca. (2021). Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 9(6), 201-213. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16

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ACS Style

Petre Roman; Diana Maria Bucur; Georgiana Dunca. Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2021, 9(6), 201-213. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16

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AMA Style

Petre Roman, Diana Maria Bucur, Georgiana Dunca. Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2021;9(6):201-213. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16,
  author = {Petre Roman and Diana Maria Bucur and Georgiana Dunca},
  title = {Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {9},
  number = {6},
  pages = {201-213},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20210906.16},
  abstract = {The management of water resources and specifically the energy supply from hydropower systems are strongly affected by drought events. This paper is devoted to the unfolding of legal consequences caused by an extreme hydrological drought event. The legal litigation occurred when – due to a severe deficit of water – the hydropower company that manages the hydro energy resources over the entire territory of Romania was unable to deliver the amount of electricity stipulated in the power purchase agreements. The studypresents an extensive statistical analysis of extreme hydrological drought events occurrence, using the threshold level method. The statistical analysis was applied on large historical records of the flow rates (50-90 years) and revealed the occurrence of extreme drought events, i.e. extremely low occurrence frequency phenomena. The characteristics of the historical data were studied to highlight the area where the forecast normally used in the hydro generation planning is not possible. In order to evaluate the occurrence of extreme drought phenomena, the natural monthly and annually flows of the Danube and other seven major interior rivers in Romania (Argeș, Bistrița, Olt, Lotru, Sebeș, Someș, Siret and Raul Mare) were analyzed, reflecting fairly a general picture of the flow distribution on the entire territory. The analyzed cases refer to periods when – due to a severe deficit of water – the Romanian hydropower company was unable to generate electricity according to the power purchase agreements (PPA). The results of the statistical analysis were further used as the base for the legal cases that confirmed the force majeure situations claimed by the hydropower company.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Establishing Legal Force Majeure Case for the Interruption of Hydro Energy Supply Related to an Extreme Hydrological Drought Event
AU  - Petre Roman
AU  - Diana Maria Bucur
AU  - Georgiana Dunca
Y1  - 2021/12/29
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 201
EP  - 213
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20210906.16
AB  - The management of water resources and specifically the energy supply from hydropower systems are strongly affected by drought events. This paper is devoted to the unfolding of legal consequences caused by an extreme hydrological drought event. The legal litigation occurred when – due to a severe deficit of water – the hydropower company that manages the hydro energy resources over the entire territory of Romania was unable to deliver the amount of electricity stipulated in the power purchase agreements. The studypresents an extensive statistical analysis of extreme hydrological drought events occurrence, using the threshold level method. The statistical analysis was applied on large historical records of the flow rates (50-90 years) and revealed the occurrence of extreme drought events, i.e. extremely low occurrence frequency phenomena. The characteristics of the historical data were studied to highlight the area where the forecast normally used in the hydro generation planning is not possible. In order to evaluate the occurrence of extreme drought phenomena, the natural monthly and annually flows of the Danube and other seven major interior rivers in Romania (Argeș, Bistrița, Olt, Lotru, Sebeș, Someș, Siret and Raul Mare) were analyzed, reflecting fairly a general picture of the flow distribution on the entire territory. The analyzed cases refer to periods when – due to a severe deficit of water – the Romanian hydropower company was unable to generate electricity according to the power purchase agreements (PPA). The results of the statistical analysis were further used as the base for the legal cases that confirmed the force majeure situations claimed by the hydropower company.
VL  - 9
IS  - 6
ER  -

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