Household and sectoral consumption trends
Electricity consumption by Romanian households fell by 11.9% year on year during the first seven months of 2026. The decline coincided with higher renewable output and increased electricity exports. Total final electricity consumption decreased by 4.3% versus January–July 2025.
Consumption by businesses and other economic users declined by 1.8%. Electricity used for public lighting fell by 7%. Together, the changes reduced overall demand while generation and cross-border flows expanded.
Available resources and generation mix shifts
Romania’s available electricity resources were broadly stable at 40.36 TWh, rising by only 54 GWh from the same period in 2025. The limited movement in headline availability masked a restructuring of the generation mix. Hydropower output increased by 16.4% to 8.39 TWh, adding approximately 1.18 TWh.
Wind generation rose by about 227 GWh to 3.62 TWh. Photovoltaic production expanded by more than 1.20 TWh to 4.10 TWh. Thermal generation moved in the opposite direction, declining by 7.9% to 8.82 TWh.
Nuclear production fell by 12.3% to 5.36 TWh. The decrease was partly linked to outages and operational constraints at the Cernavodă plant . This shift contributed to the overall change in how supply was met across the period.
Exports, grid operations, and primary energy balances
Electricity exports increased by approximately 930 GWh to 9.04 TWh during the seven-month period. Consumption associated with network and station operations rose by 381 GWh to 3.24 TWh. The increase pointed to higher grid-related electricity use as renewable generation and cross-border volumes grew .
Primary energy resources declined by 6.2% to 18.14 million tonnes of oil equivalent. Domestic primary energy production decreased by 2.9%, while imports fell more sharply, down by 9.4%, to 8.87 million tonnes of oil equivalent.
Residential demand drivers and post-July system tightening
The lower residential consumption may reflect energy-efficiency improvements, higher self-generation by prosumers, price sensitivity, and weather conditions . Rooftop photovoltaic output consumed directly by households can reduce metered grid demand without producing an equivalent reduction in underlying electricity use.
The export performance in early 2026 also needs to be assessed alongside later hydrology deterioration . After July, the summer shutdown of Cernavodă and lower Danube levels materially tightened the system, shifting conditions toward import dependence when large generating assets became unavailable.
