Imports were the only ones that increased by almost 35%, and 2012 was the only year after 1996 when the country, a traditional exporter of power, had to import it to meet demand.
Therefore 2012 was different than 2011 when export, production and consumption were on the rise and came close to the 2008 level.
Electricity production stood at 56.7 TWh, more than 6% below the 2011 level, while domestic consumption stood at 52.36 TWh, almost 2.6% lower than in the previous year.
Analyzing power consumption can be used as a way to assess the state of a specific economy in real time. In times of economic growth, electricity consumption rises, too, primarily driven by the industrial sector, while during recessions or times of stagnation, an economy requires less power to keep going.
The latest ANRE data show it, too.
While households used 3.7% more power, the industry, made up of precisely those consumers buying electricity from the competitive market, used 1.6% less.
The problem is it did not get any better in the first two months of this year, either. January ended with a slight decline, while February saw a two-digit drop.
The main reason was the higher temperature than in the same time last year, but some of the decline may have been because of the industry. Even though the year started off on the wrong foot, the latest official statements from national grid company Transelectrica (TEL.RO) show consumption could increase by about 1.5% in 2013.
One alarming thing is that even though Romania required less power, it had to resort to imports, which went up by almost 35% compared with 2011, to 1.4 TWh.
As for the electricity generation structure, wind power increased its share of the total from 1.9% in 2011 to 3.5%.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)