Electricity Generation Grows by Nearly a Quarter in January

Estonia’s power stations produced 1168 gigawatt-hours of electricity this January, which is 24 percent higher than the same time last year.

The main reason for the increased electricity production is the growth in both electricity exports and consumption compared to the same period a year ago. In addition, output growth is supported by the continued cheapening of CO₂ emissions quotas. Increased production also brought a new record – for a five-minute period on the afternoon of January 30th, the power stations were producing 2052 megawatts of electricity.

While output reached 1168 gigawatt-hours, domestic consumption was 861 gigawatt-hours, exceeding the figure for January of 2012 by five percent. The average air temperature for January was nearly two degrees lower than a year ago, and along with the overall economic growth, this caused an increase in consumption.

Latvia’s electricity production for this January was 44 percent higher than a year ago, a total of 680 gigawatt-hours, with output from the hydro power plant cascade on the Daugava River increasing by 47 percent. Domestic production managed to cover nearly 88 percent of Latvia’s own electricity consumption in January. Latvia covered the other 89 gigawatt-hours of electricity by importing 65 percent of it from Estonia and 35 percent from Lithuanian market participants.

In Lithuania, the first month of this year saw electricity production drop by 14 percent compared to a year ago, with a total output of 349 gigawatt-hours. Production managed to cover only 34 percent of Lithuania’s domestic electricity consumption in January. The overall deficit of the electricity balance for the month was 666 gigawatt-hours, which is the largest single month’s deficit in recent years. Out of Lithuania’s total imports, 25 percent came through Estonia and 16 percent through Latvia. Imports from third countries accounted for 59 percent of Lithuania’s total shortfall.

The combined electricity deficit for the Baltic states in January was 449 gigawatt-hours, down by 27 percent compared to the same period last year. The deficit accounted for 17 percent of consumption within the Baltic states.

In the Nordics, electricity production in January grew by two percent compared to the same period last year. The highest output increase was in Sweden, with seven percent. All together, Sweden’s power plants produced a record 16.3 terawatt-hours of electricity. Similarly to Sweden, electricity production also grew in Finland and Denmark; however, it decreased in Norway. Consumption in the Nordics grew by four percent over the same period.

Exports of electricity generated in Estonia reached 612 gigawatt-hours in January, growing by 80 percent. At the same time, imports increased by 31 percent, to 292 gigawatt-hours.

Out of Estonia’s total electricity exports in January, electricity going to Lithuania accounted for 46%, Latvia for 40% and Finland for 14%. Among imports, 36% came from Latvia, 32% from Lithuania and 32% from Finland.

The full report on the electrical system in January is available here (in Estonian).