Yugoslav-Romanian Dispute Reported on Electricity Use

Romania and Yugoslavia are embroiled in a dispute over sharing electricity from hydroelectric stations on the Danube, diplomatic sources said Thursday.

The Yugoslav power corporation Jugel issued a statement Wednesday accusing Romania of exceeding the limits of water released from the lake at Djerdap since September.

During last month’s visit to Bucharest by President Sinan Hasani, Yugoslavia officially protested that Romania had drawn the water level lower than mutually agreed, jeopardizing Yugoslav power supplies, the sources said.

The two sides operate hydro dams at the Iron Gates on their Danube border, with an agreement specifying water levels to be maintained. When water is low, generation is supposed to stop.

The Jugel statement said Romania breached the agreement several times over the last six years, forcing Yugoslavia to either draw on other power resources or curtail the work of nearby industrial plants consuming electricity.