Electricity end consumption in Romania went up by 8.5% in the first quarter of the year as local companies used 10.6% more energy, according to most recent data from the National Statistics Institute (INS).

Public lightning was up 1.8%, while individual consumers used 2.4% more electricity.

The total electricity production rose by a mere 0.3% year-on-year, to 17.09 TWh. Thermal power plants covered 7.07 TWh of this amount, 0.3% higher than in the same period of 2015.

Hydropower plants produced 4.59 TWh – down 7.1%, while the nuclear energy output stood at 3.04 TWh and was up 1.4%. Wind turbines produced 13.6% more electricity – to 2.07 TWh, while photovoltaic installations saw the biggest increase in output – 22%, and generated 0.324 TWh.

Romania had to import 38.8% more electricity year-on-year – some 1.2 TWh, while its electricity exports were down 20.6% to 2.06 TWh.

editor@romania-insider.com