Q1 energy consumption falls 9%

The total energy consumption in January to March amounted to 371 petajoule (PJ), which was nine per cent less than that in the corresponding period of 2018, said the Statistics Finland in a press release.

Electricity consumption amounted to 25.6 terawatt hours (TWh), that is, nearly as much as one year earlier. Carbon dioxide emissions from the energy use of fuels declined 14 per cent year on year.

The beginning of the year was warmer than the year before, which was the most significant reason for the fall in total energy consumption. The consumption of all fuels fell in the first quarter. The consumption of peat declined most, by 24 per cent. In turn, the consumption of oil declined least, by five per cent.

Of electricity production, the production of hydro power decreased by 24 per cent and the production of condensing power by 25 per cent. Production was compensated with electricity imports, and net imports of electricity increased by 10 per cent in January to March. The production of wind power also increased, by 27 per cent, in total. Three per cent more electricity was produced with combined heat and power production than in the year before.

In January to March, diverse energy products were imported to Finland to the value of EUR 2.7 billion. The value of imports was nearly the same as in the corresponding quarter of the year before. Most energy products were imported from Russia, whose share of the value of imports was 62 per cent.

Energy products were exported from Finland to the value of EUR 1.4 billion. The value of exports increased by two per cent compared to that in the corresponding quarter of the year before. Most energy products were exported to OECD countries, which accounted for 79 per cent of the value of exports.