The relatively warm weather during most of December influenced the decrease in electricity consumption for heating in Southeast Europe. An additional driver of lower spending during the last week of last year was reduced economic activity due to the New Year holidays.
The demand for electricity fell in all markets of Southeast Europe, by a total of 12%, to 1.43 TWh. Romania saw a 16% drop in consumption, while Croatia and Bulgaria also saw a significant drop in demand of around 15%, as temperatures were around 5 degrees above seasonal norms. Greece recorded a weekly drop in electricity consumption by 10%.
Production from variable renewable energy sources in Southeast Europe fell by 24% during the week, to 1.12 TWh, mainly due to lower wind production in most markets. It was reduced by 35% compared to the previous week, to 830 GWh. Most markets in the region recorded lower wind energy production, with Greece recording the largest drop – by as much as 70%.
The production of solar energy in the region recorded a moderate growth of 12%, to 355 GWh. Most markets in the region recorded an increase in solar production, with Hungary and Greece recording the largest increase, by 38% and 19%, respectively, compared to the previous week. Bulgaria recorded a 14% drop in solar production.
Greece significantly reduced production from variable RES compared to the previous week, by 36%, to 174 GWh.
The total production of hydropower in the region decreased by 13%, to 1.77 TWh. All markets in the region, except Romania, registered lower hydropower production, with Croatia and Bulgaria recording the biggest drop, by 35% and 40%, respectively, to 123 GWh and 38 GWh.
Greece and Serbia also recorded a drop in hydropower production, while Romania was the only country in the region to report a 14% increase in hydropower production, to 294 GWh.
Thermal energy production fell in all regional markets, driven by a significantly lower demand for electricity and a significantly lower price of imported electricity compared to the previous week. As a result, there was a noticeable drop in thermal energy production by 14%, to 7.54 TWh.
