Primary energy resources up almost 11pct Jan-July; electricity consumption up 7pct

Romania's primary energy resources increased by 10.8% in the first seven months of the current year, compared to the similar period in 2020, and those of electricity increased by 10.6%, according to data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Monday.The final electricity consumption stood at 32.459 billion kWh, in the same reference period, 7% higher, and public lighting decreased by 3.1%, while the consumption of the population increased by 8%.According to the official statistics, between January and July 2021, the main primary energy resources totaled 19.752 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe), increasing by 1.935 million toe, compared to the same period last year.In this context, domestic production amounted to 10.908 million toe, 490,700 toe more than in the first seven months of 2020, and imports amounted to 8.845 million toe.According to the INS, compared to the reference period, the electricity resources were of 40.275 billion kWh, up 3.859 billion kWh.At the same time, the production from thermal power plants stood at 12.630 billion kWh, up 1.472 billion kWh (+ 13.2%).Also, the production from hydropower plants increased by 31.6%, up to 12.049 billion kWh, and that from nuclear power plants was 6.249 billion kWh, down 224.6 million kWh (-3.5%).INS show that the production from wind power plants, between January 1 and July 31, 2021, was 3.781 billion kWh, down 479.6 million kWh compared to the same period last year, while solar energy produced in photovoltaic installations was 1.09 billion kWh, down 0.5 million kWh.At the level of exports, the amount of exported electricity was 4.414 billion kWh, up 1.519 billion kWh.At the same time, its own technological consumption in networks and stations was 3.402 billion kWh, with 202.2 million kWh above the value recorded in the first seven months of 2020.