According to data published by electricity transmission system operator Transelectrica, on Wednesday 14 October, at 19:10, Romania imported 2,133 MW of electricity, at a relatively low consumption for the evening peak of about 7,500 MW.
Electricity imports to Romania have exceeded 2,000 MW per hour, even at normal consumption levels and in normal weather conditions, which is a precedent.
Total production at that time fell below 5,400 MW, meaning that more than a quarter of the country’s electricity consumption, namely 28 %, came from imports.
In addition to the relatively low production of wind farms, which amounted to 406 MW, and lower contribution of hydropower plants (1,920 MW), there was a noticeable decline in the production of gas-fired power plants, which in that period operated with a capacity of only 400 MW.
The main cause of the decline in Romanian production seems to be the overhaul of the Petrom Brazi CHPP, the largest gas unit in the country, which has a capacity of 860 MW. The overhaul would last until 26 October.
In addition, there were unplanned disconnections of units at CET Galati and TPP Mintia, along with a planned shutdown of several large units, such as one unit of TPP Turceni and a unit of HPP Djerdap.
With such large imports, Romania has come very close to the technical limit on interconnection lines with neighboring networks, which is between 2,100 and 2,200 MW.
Romania continued its massive import of 1,700 MW of electricity on Thursday morning.
