Russian energy consumption down 1.6% in Q1
MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) - Energy consumption in Russia fell 1.6% year-on-year to 287.9 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in January-March, OJSC UES Systems Operator (SO UES) reported.
Consumption in the United Energy System (UES) (does not include isolated energy systems) totaled 281.6 billion kWh in the first three months of 2013, also down 1.6% year-on-year.
In March alone, energy consumption rose 1.2% year-on-year to 96.3 billion kWh. In the UES, consumption also grew 1.2% year-on-year to 94.2 billion kWh.
This was caused by the temperature factor - the average daily temperature throughout the UES was 1.7 degrees Celsius higher than the norm in Q1 2013. The additional day during leap year in 2012 also contributed to the decline.
In January-March, Russian energy production declined by 1.9% year-on-year to 292.6 billion kWh. UES power generation fell 2% to 286.2 billion kWh.
Combined heat and power plants (CHPP) bore the main burden for demand for power in the UES in January-March, generating 184.7 billion kWh of electricity (down 5.1%). Hydro-electric power plants (HPP) churned out 39 billion kWh of electricity (up 13.4%), nuclear power plants (NPP) produced 48 billion kWh (down 1.9%), and industrial enterprises' power plants generated 14.5 billion kWh (up 3.4%).
In March alone, electricity production totaled 97.7 billion kWh in Russia, up 0.9% year-on-year. UES power generation also rose 0.9% year-on-year to 95.6 billion kWh.
CHPP bore the main burden for demand for power in the UES in March, generating 62.2 billion kWh of electricity (down 1.1%). HPP churned out 13.4 billion kWh of electricity (up 21.4%), NPP produced 15.2 billion kWh (down 6.9%), and industrial enterprises' power plants generated 4.9 billion kWh (up 5.7%).
Maximum consumption totaled 140,629 MW in March, up 2% year-on-year.
