Romania’s electricity consumption up 6% in first quarter, more wind energy used

Romania's electricity consumption went up by 6 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, while the production advanced by 11 percent, according to Translecetrica network operator. The 5 percentage points difference was covered by exports, according to Razvan Purdila, deputy general manager with Transelectrica, quoted by Romanian media. The final energy consumption in 2010 went up by 3.8 percent in Romania last year, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Around 10 percent of the country's electricity could come from wind farms by the end of the year, on a growth trend compared to the current ratio of 5 percent. “There were days when the wind blew stronger and 5 percent of the electricity consumption was covered from wind farms. We hope to reach 10 percent by the end of this year,” said Ciprian Diaconu, deputy general manager with Transelectrica. The Dobrogea area of Romania holds 600 MW of wind farms, but not all of them are functional. Transelectrica, listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (symbol TEL), is controlled by the Romanian state. It operates the electricity network in Romania, some 9,000 km of electrical lines. editor@romania-insider.com