Power Grid Operator Transelectrica Sees Romania's Electricity Consumption Growing 33% in 2008-2017

Annual net consumption, including grid losses, is expected to total 59.5 TWh in 2010, 62.53 TWh in 2012 and to further rise to 66.12 TWh in 2014 and 70.10 TWh in 2016, Transelectrica said in its development plan for 2008-2017.

It added that power consumption in the capital Bucharest and the cities of Brasov, Cluj, Timisoara, Constanta and Tulcea is expected to rise faster than the country's average.

For the Muntenia Sud zone, which includes Bucharest, Transelectrica forecasts a 115% growth in electricity consumption until 2017 compared to 2006. Power consumption is expected to rise by 85% on Romania’s Black Sea coast.

The combined installed capacity of the Romanian power plants was 20,380 megawatts (MW) at the end of 2007. Hydropower plants accounted for 32% of the total capacity, the country's sole nuclear power plant Cernavoda for 7.0% and thermal power plants for 61%, Transelectrica said.

It added that several power plants with combined installed capacity of 2,520 MW will be shut down by 2017 as they are outdated or inefficient. Power plants with combined installed capacity worth 6,162 MW will be built or upgraded by 2013, and between 2014 and 2018 power generation units totalling a further 5,129 MW will be connected to the grid.