Energy storage must become a priority for Romania, which should rather increase the number of its large users among industrial users than export energy, deputy chairman of Romania’s Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) Emil Calotă said. „It is unacceptable for a country to overgenerate electricity and export it. It is similar to exporting any other raw material, timber for instance. Electricity should be used close to the point of use and it would be better for Romania to increase the number of large consumers among industrial users than to export energy,“ he explained, according to Romanian news agency Act Media.
Calotă added that storage and power dispensing stations could be included in a legislative package the transmission operators may submit to ANRE’s consideration.
Electricity output in the first nine months of the year rose 4.3% from the corresponding period of 2014, while final electricity consumption advanced 6.3% to 39.2 TWh, Romania-Insider reported.
Renewable energy output went up by more than 50%, reaching almost 7 TWh, or 14.3% of total production. Electricity produced in thermal power plants went up by 4.6%, reaching 19.9 TWh (41% of the total) while hydropower plants generated 9% less or 13 TWh (27% of the total), due to drought. Nuclear electricity production was flat at 8.5 TWh (17.6%).
In terms of consumption, local companies used 6.6% more energy in the first nine months compared to the same period of 2014, or almost 30 TWh, and the household consumption went up by 4.3% to 8.9 TWh. Electricity consumption for public lighting increased by a third, to 431 GWh.
Electricity exports went up by 40% compared to the first three quarters of last year, reaching 7.54 TWh. However, despite the production surplus, Romania also imported 10 times more electricity than last year, or 2.76 TWh.
