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Domestic consumption of electricity has grown significantly in July 2015
The domestic consumption of electricity has grown significantly in July 2015, due to the very high weather, and has reached 6,474 MW monthly average, very close to the highest value in the past four years peak of 6,635 MW, recorded in July 2012, according to a report released by Transelectrica, Romania's electricity transmission and system operator .
In July 2012, the average daily temperature at national level varied from a minimum of 20.5 degrees Celsius to a maximum of 27.6 degrees, while in July 2015 it ranged between 18.9 degrees C and 27.8 degrees C. The average daily temperature exceeded 25 degrees C in 21 days in July 2012 and in 15 days in July this year.
The largest value of the gross domestic consumption of electricity (daily average) of the summer of 2012 was 7,167 MW, on July 10, when the countrywide average daily temperature was 26 degrees C. This summer, the highest domestic gross consumption of 7,048 MW was recorded on July 23, when the average daily temperature reached 27 degrees C nationwide, with an average of 28 degrees C in Bucharest.
"Although in July 23, 2015 the countrywide average temperature was around one degree C higher than on July 10, 2012 the average daily consumption of electricity was by over 100 MW higher in 2012. Bucharest made the difference; temperature there in July 10, 2012 was about two degrees higher than on July 23, 2015. Given that, on one hand, cca 15pct of the total consumption of the National Energy System (SEN) is covered by Bucharest, and on the other hand, the Capital City's consumption structure, with a high proportion of the air conditioned appliances (both in households and offices), in the very hot periods around one half of the consumption growth occurs this area," Transelectrica reports.
In July, the electricity production was 5,316 GWh. The long heat wave periods have led to a significant drop in the hydro-energy output, to 21pct of the total, as compared to 33pct in the last year's similar period. The decrease of the hydro-power production was compensated by increases in the energy plants on hydrocarbons (plus 10pct) and in the coal plants (plus 5pct).
According to the source, on July 10, 2012, the day with the highest consumption of that year production was mainly covered by the coal plants (40.9pct), followed by the hydro-plants (23.3pct) and by the Cernavoda nuclear plant (18.5pct). The energy plants on hydrocarbons produced 15.2pct of the necessary of electricity, while the rest of 2.1pct was produced by the wind farms.
On July 23, 2015 - the day with the greatest consumption this summer - the production structure was more balanced: 36.3pct of the electricity was produced in coal plants, 21.3pct in hydro power plants, 19.3pct in the hydrocarbon plants, 16.36pct in the nuclear plant of Cernavoda, 3.05pct in wind farms, 2.88pct in photovoltaic plants and 0.88pct in biofuel plants.
Transelectrica's report also mentions that in July 2015, Romania has again registered net exports, the monthly average value being 670 MW, and the daily average varying from 396 to 1,037 MW.
"For comparison, in July 2012 when it was registered the highest consumption of electricity in the past summers, due to very high temperatures, the monthly average balance was 85 MW in exports, and the daily average varied from 285 MW in imports and 382 MW in exports, and in July 2014, which was an year with high hydraulicity, the average balance reached 914 MW in exports, and the daily average varied from 662 MW in exports and 1,123 MW in imports," the release says.