Îndată ce începe o pană de curent, sunăm operatorul de distribuție.

Îndată ce means as soon as.

In this sentence, Îndată ce începe o pană de curent = As soon as a power outage begins.

A few useful notes:

• îndată ce is correct and natural, but it can sound a bit more formal or careful.
• In everyday speech, many speakers also say:
  • imediat ce
  • de îndată ce
  • sometimes just când if the meaning is less precise

So the sentence is perfectly good Romanian, but îndată ce is a slightly more formal-feeling way to say as soon as.

Yes, ce often means what, but not always.

In îndată ce, the word ce is part of a fixed conjunction meaning as soon as. So here you should learn îndată ce as a whole expression, not as separate words translated one by one.

Compare:

• Ce faci? = What are you doing?
• Îndată ce ajunge, plecăm. = As soon as he/she arrives, we leave.

So in your sentence, ce does not mean what by itself.

Because the subject is o pană de curent, which is third person singular.

The verb a începe = to begin / to start.

Present tense:

• eu încep = I begin
• tu începi = you begin
• el/ea începe = he/she/it begins
• noi începem = we begin
• voi începeți = you all begin
• ei/ele încep = they begin

Since o pană de curent is singular, Romanian uses începe:

• o pană de curent începe = a power outage begins

O pană de curent means a power outage, a power cut, or an electricity blackout, depending on context.

Breakdown:

• pană can mean a breakdown, failure, or interruption in certain expressions
• de curent = of current/electricity

So the whole phrase means an interruption in the electrical supply.

This is a set phrase in Romanian. You should learn it as a chunk:

• a avea o pană de curent = to have a power outage
• este o pană de curent = there is a power outage

Because o is the indefinite article for a feminine singular noun, meaning a/an.

• pană is feminine singular
• so a power outage = o pană de curent

Compare:

• o casă = a house
• o problemă = a problem
• o pană de curent = a power outage

If it were definite, it would be:

• pana de curent = the power outage

This is very normal in Romanian.

Romanian often uses the present tense in sentences describing:

• habits
• general procedures
• repeated actions
• things that happen whenever a condition is met

So:

• Îndată ce începe o pană de curent, sunăm operatorul de distribuție.

means something like:

• As soon as a power outage begins, we call the distribution operator
• or Whenever a power outage starts, we call the distribution operator

It sounds like a general rule or routine, not necessarily one single event in the future.

English does something similar:

• When it rains, we stay inside.
• As soon as he arrives, we leave.

Yes, sunăm means we call or more specifically we telephone / we ring.

It comes from the verb a suna, which can mean:

• to call by phone
• to ring
• to sound

In this sentence, it clearly means to call by phone:

• sunăm operatorul = we call the operator

Present tense of a suna:

• eu sun
• tu suni
• el/ea sună
• noi sunăm
• voi sunați
• ei/ele sună

Because Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• sunăm already tells you the subject is we
• so noi is unnecessary unless you want emphasis

Compare:

• Sunăm operatorul. = We call the operator.
• Noi sunăm operatorul. = We call the operator.
  This sounds more emphatic, like we are the ones who call.

This is very common in Romanian:

• Mergem = we go
• Știu = I know
• Vine = he/she comes

Operatorul means the operator.

Romanian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• operator = operator
• operatorul = the operator

This ending -ul is the masculine singular definite article.

Other examples:

• băiat = boy
• băiatul = the boy
• telefon = telephone
• telefonul = the telephone

In your sentence, operatorul de distribuție means the distribution operator.

De distribuție means of distribution or more naturally in English, distribution as a noun modifier.

So:

• operatorul de distribuție = the distribution operator

This is a very common Romanian structure:

• noun + de
  • noun

Examples:

• rețea de apă = water network
• sticlă de vin = bottle of wine
• companie de transport = transport company
• operator de distribuție = distribution operator

In the context of electricity, this refers to the company/operator responsible for power distribution.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Îndată ce începe o pană de curent = As soon as a power outage begins

Then comes the main clause:

• sunăm operatorul de distribuție = we call the distribution operator

Romanian normally separates this kind of introductory subordinate clause from the main clause with a comma.

So the structure is:

• subordinate clause + comma + main clause

This is similar to English:

• As soon as a power outage begins, we call the distribution operator.

Yes. Romanian word order is fairly flexible.

The given sentence is very natural:

• Îndată ce începe o pană de curent, sunăm operatorul de distribuție.

But you could also say:

• Sunăm operatorul de distribuție îndată ce începe o pană de curent.

That means the same thing:
We call the distribution operator as soon as a power outage begins.

The difference is mostly one of focus:

• starting with Îndată ce... emphasizes the condition/time first
• starting with Sunăm... emphasizes the action first

Both are correct.

Most naturally, it sounds like a general rule, procedure, or habit.

Because both verbs are in the present tense:

• începe
• sunăm

the sentence suggests:

• Whenever a power outage begins, we call the distribution operator
• As soon as there is a power outage, we call...

If you wanted to talk about one specific future event, Romanian could still use similar forms depending on context, but without extra context this sentence sounds general and habitual.