Romania’s electricity consumption fell by 3.4% during the first five months of 2026, while domestic production rose by 6.2%. The change supported the country’s underlying power balance as two-way cross-border trading continued. Total consumption reached 20.21 TWh.
Electricity use by sector and public lighting
Industrial users accounted for 15.53 TWh of consumption, down 0.8%. Household demand declined by 11.3% to 4.51 TWh. Public-lighting electricity use fell by 5.2% to 168.4 GWh.
The main driver behind the national decline was the reduction in household demand. Industrial consumption was comparatively resilient, although the overall contraction still indicated subdued power use among manufacturers and other large consumers.
Generation mix: hydro, wind, solar and thermal
Total electricity production reached 22.33 TWh, supported by hydro, wind and solar generation. Hydropower output increased by 23.2% to 6.38 TWh, approaching the level of thermal generation. Thermal generation fell by 4.4% to 6.68 TWh.
Nuclear production from the Cernavodă power plant declined by 12.3% to 4.04 TWh. Wind generation rose by 15.4% to 3.02 TWh, while solar output, including prosumers, increased by 35.9% to 2.21 TWh.
Renewables share and cross-border trade volumes
Wind and solar together generated 5.23 TWh, equivalent to approximately 23% of total production. Their combined output exceeded nuclear generation, with changes in the supply structure occurring alongside the demand decline.
Exports, imports and hourly balance volatility
Total electricity exports increased by 13.1% to 6.47 TWh, while imports declined by 11.8% to 6.88 TWh. On gross trade figures, Romania remained a small net importer, but the deficit narrowed to approximately 0.41 TWh.
The concurrent rise in production, exports and renewable output pointed to more volatile hourly balances . Romania could export during periods of strong hydro, wind or solar generation while importing during evening peaks, low-wind conditions or nuclear and thermal outages.
Implications for flexibility and investment needs
The higher share of renewables supported Romania’s annual energy balance while increasing the role of storage, demand response and cross-border capacity . Solar output was expanding fastest, creating more midday supply and a steeper evening ramp.
{} Wind provided a different generation profile and higher annual utilisation, but its volatility required separate balancing arrangements . Batteries, pumped storage, flexible gas units and network reinforcement were identified as factors determining how much growing renewable output could be monetised without higher curtailment or deeper negative-price exposure.
