Residents block street in Bucharest in protest over frequent blackouts

Around 50 people blocked traffic on Petricani street in Bucharest on Wednesday evening ( February 15 ), in protest against frequent power outages. Protestors complained that despite being up to date with bills, electricity supply to the area has been constantly interrupted for several days. The protest lasted for about two hours.

The electricity supply in Petricani street was suspended Wednesday evening because of the high electricity consumption, resulting from most residents in the area using electric heating, according to electricity company Enel, quoted by the Romanian media. Transelectrica, the state-owned electricity carrier in the country, has recently announced that it will limit or even cancel exports of electricity between February 15 and March 16, as well as limiting the quantities delivered to consumers facing desperate conditions, due to the unfavorable weather conditions. The Western and North-western regions of Romania are currently under a Code Yellow for snow and blizzards. The average daily electricity consumption in Romania was the highest of the last ten years in February this year, according to electricity network operator Transelectrica. The maximum consumption on February 3 was 8,466 Mwh, above the maximum in previous years. The average consumption in February last year was of 7,749 Mwh, while consumers in Romania used an average of 8,106 Mwh a day in the first 14 days in February, when the country was under an Orange code for low temperatures and blizzard. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)