Energy consumption falls by 7% in H1

The total energy consumption from January to June amounted to 671 petajoule (PJ), which was seven per cent less than in the corresponding period last year, according to Statistics Finland.

Electricity consumption amounted to 44.6 terawatt hours (TWh), or one per cent lower than one year earlier. Carbon dioxide emissions from the energy use of fuels declined by 12 per cent year-on-year.

The milder weather in the early part of the year compared to 2018 was the main cause of the drop in total energy consumption.

The drop in carbon dioxide emissions was mostly affected by a 22 per cent decrease in peat consumption and 10 per cent decline in coal consumption. The consumption of renewable wood fuels also decreased by 10 per cent.

Production of hydro power fell by 16 per cent and condensing power by 31 per cent. Net imports of electricity made a downturn in the second quarter and during the first six months of the year four per cent less electricity was imported than one year earlier. Production of wind power increased by 19 per cent and combined heat and power production by six per cent.

In the January to June period, diverse energy products were imported into Finland to the value of EUR 5.2 billion. The value of imports grew by three per cent compared with the corresponding period in 2018.

Most energy products were imported from Russia, whose share of the value of imports was 64 per cent. Energy products were exported from Finland to the value of EUR 2.8 billion, which was seven per cent up on the year before. Most energy products were exported from to OECD countries, which accounted for 83 per cent of the value of exports.