Romanian electricity consumption declined by 4% in the first eight months of 2026, according to data published by the National Institute for Statistics. Total electricity demand reached 32.02 TWh between January and August, compared with a higher level in the same period of 2025. The figures were accompanied by higher renewable generation and a narrower electricity trade gap.
Consumption by customer segment
The reduction was most pronounced in household demand, where electricity use fell 11.3% to 7.09 TWh. Industrial electricity consumption decreased by 1.6% to 24.71 TWh. Electricity for public lighting declined by 14.2% to approximately 218.5 GWh.
The changes across customer groups indicate weaker overall consumption without showing the same scale of decline everywhere. Household, industrial and public lighting demand all moved downward over the period covered by the statistics.
Generation mix shifts toward renewables
Electricity production increased while consumption fell, with Romania generating 34.34 TWh, up 3.1% year on year. The rise was supported by stronger hydroelectric, wind and solar output during the first eight months of 2026.
Hydropower generation climbed 13.5% to 9.17 TWh, while wind production rose 9% to 4.10 TWh. Solar power recorded the largest growth, including prosumer installations, with generation up 47.9% to 5.17 TWh.
The increase in solar output points to a larger role for distributed and utility-scale solar within Romania’s national electricity balance over the period reported.
Thermal and nuclear output declines
Traditional generation delivered weaker results as renewable output rose. Thermal power production fell 5.1% to 10.34 TWh, while output from the Cernavodă nuclear power plant decreased by 21.5% to 5.56 TWh.
This shift in the generation structure was reflected in cross-border electricity flows during the same timeframe.
Trade balance narrows as exports rise
Romanian electricity exports increased by 12.4% to 10.51 TWh, while imports declined by 6.3% to 11.82 TWh. As a result, the difference between imports and exports narrowed to approximately 1.31 TWh.
Even with the narrower gap, Romania remained a net electricity importer over the January-to-August period covered by the data.
Domestic primary energy production weakens
The statistics also show domestic primary energy production declining by 4.2%. Coal production fell by 17%, crude oil output decreased by 6.9%, and natural gas production edged down by 0.4%.
The reported changes align with a generation and supply picture where stronger renewable output plays a larger role while conventional domestic energy production remains under pressure.
