Romania’s total electricity consumption in 2011 went up by 4 percent compared to the previous year, while the electricity exports were down 19.2 percent, to 2.4 billion KWh, according to the Romanian National Statistics Institute (INS).

Public lighting consumption decreased by 7.3 percent last year, while household consumption was up by 3.3 percent. Available electricity resources also reported a growth of 2.1 percent compared to 2010, mainly due to the increase in production - up 2.1 percent. Wind power capacity in 2011 went up to 948.7 million KWh. Read more here (in Romanian; PDF version).

Economists usually link increases or drops in electricity consumption to the state of a country's economy, as in times of financial distress or recession commercial and industrial energy consumption falls. Householders also tend to consume less to save on their energy bills.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Sxc.hu)