Romania Posts Surplus in Electricity Trade for 2023, But Exports Cheaper per MWh

By Romania Journal Last updated Mar 18, 2024

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Given that electricity exports were significantly higher than imports in physical terms, and in value terms in 2023, Romania was in surplus. Not in terms of price per MWh, where the export price was lower than the import price.

The value of Romania’s electricity exports in 2023 was 1.23 billion euros, according to the data communicated by the National Institute of Statistics at our request. In 2023, the value of Romania’s electricity imports will reach almost 1.19 billion euros, according to the same source. Both dates are provisional.

From electricity trade, Romania’s balance was positive last year, the country having a surplus of 47 million euros against the background of the situation, already known to be a net exporter of electricity in terms of physical volumes.

Last year, from a commercial point of view, we exported the most to Bulgaria, 482 million euros, and then to Hungary (406 million) and Serbia (294 million). From the point of view of imports, we paid the most to Serbia (507 million euros) and then to Hungary (334 million euros) and to Bulgaria (309 million).

Romania exports electricity during off-peak hours, when it is cheap, and imports during peak consumption hours, when it is expensive.

So, for physical exports of 11.63 TWh (INS data differ significantly from those of Transelectrica, which show the physical flows on the interconnection lines) 1.235 billion euros were collected, so, on average, for one MWh exported, Romanian producers they received 106 euros/MWh.

Physical imports were, according to the INS, 8.61 TWh, their value being 1.187 billion euros. So, on average, we paid for each imported MWh, almost 138 euros.

Therefore, the price for an imported MWh was 30% higher than for an exported MWh, in the year 2023, so even in the situation where we were net exporters of electricity in terms of volumes and, overall, also in terms of from a monetary point of view, the country was in surplus in 2023, the price per MWh is lower for export than for import.

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