Data provided by state-run power grid operator Transelectrica show that it was not the industry but the weather that set the trend of electricity consumption this year.
“The monthly trend of the domestic power consumption in January-July 2012 compared with the year-ago period was largely influenced by the monthly fluctuation of the average temperature throughout the country. The temperature drop during winter drives domestic power consumption up, as people use electric heaters. The temperature rise during the summer drives consumption up because of air conditioners and refrigerating equipment,” Transelectrica representatives say.
The average temperature was minus 6.3 degrees Celsius in February, much lower than in the month last year, when it stood at minus 1.8 degrees Celsius. Moreover, Transelectrica data show multi-annual average for February is minus 1.1 degrees Celsius. The very cold weather led to an increase in electricity consumption by more than 5% in February.
The same happened in July, when temperatures were very high and Romania experienced one of the most severe droughts in history. The average temperature in July was 25.3 degrees Celsius, compared with 21.9 degrees Celsius last year. Transelectrica data show the multi-annual average for July is 19.2 degrees Celsius. Under the circumstances, electricity consumption rose by 3.5% on the same month of 2011.
“Temperature in September is estimated to be slightly higher than the multi-annual average, which is why power consumption should drop slightly. The long-term weather forecast for October-December 2012 indicates average monthly temperatures around multi-annual averages,” Transelectrica officials said.
Therefore, even though very low or very high temperatures led to an increase in electricity consumption in some months, the data of the national grid company show a slight decline compared with last year, from 60 TWh to a gross level of 59.7 TWh.
Electricity consumption figures are important because they show how well the major industries or companies are doing and eventually how well the entire economy is doing. President Traian Basescu for instance, said in the summer of 2009 that he no longer trusted the economists and would call the then Economy Minister Adriean Videanu to inquire about power consumption.
Electricity consumption peaked in 2008, then witnessed its steepest contraction in 2009 because of the global economic crisis. It picked up in 2010, as the economy did, and last year came close to the 2008 level, after an over 3% increase.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)