Electricity consumption, down 10% in January

Electricity consumption fell by around 10% at national level in January 2009 against January 2008, from 5.7 TWh to 5.2 TWh, with the trend being announced as early as in October last year. “The decline in consumption of electricity is a consequence of the reduced operations of large consumers. An additional factor is that temperatures recorded in the first month of the year were higher than last year, leading to a lower energy consumption,” says Marian Cernat, deputy general manager of the National Energy Dispatch Centre, which is in charge of measuring energy-related data. Large consumers have announced a reduction in production in the context of the crisis, with thousands of people to be laid off. Alro Slatina aluminium smelter has announced it will cut half of its production, ArcelorMittal Galati steel plant will work at full capacity, Automobile Dacia car plant is temporarily closed. The 10% decline in energy consumption in January confirms the most pessimistic forecasts for 2009.