Romania, a leader in Europe in electricity prices due to the heatwave

Due to the heatwave in recent days, Romania has reached the highest electricity price in Europe, with an average price of 1,171 lei/MWh for Monday, June 29. Hungary is in second place, with an average price one euro lower. In comparison, the price of electricity in Romania is 2.5 times higher than in Bulgaria and Greece, where prices are 90 and 87 euros/MWh, respectively.

The increase in energy consumption, especially in the evening when solar panels no longer produce energy, contributes to this situation. The highest price of the day was recorded between 19:00 and 19:15, reaching 4,250 lei/MWh (811 euros/MWh). Romania had to import energy from Bulgaria and Hungary to meet the demand. Climatic factors, such as the decrease in the efficiency of solar panels and the shutdown of nuclear power plants due to high temperatures, have worsened the situation. Electricity consumption has increased, especially due to the use of air conditioning units, and Romania does not have sufficient generation capacity to support consumption during peak times.