The demand for energy locally will drop by 15 percent his year, mostly due to a decline in industrial consumption of some 20 percent, according to Jack Cutisteanu, General Manager of Petprod, one of the most important internal market traders. Cutisteanu thus revised his previous estimates of up to 10 percent. “I believe that the reduction in industry will soon reach 20 percent, because the effects of the crisis are beginning to be propagated horizontally,” added the Petprod official. “There is a very visible rationalization of consumption in industry. Since October and until today, those most affected by the crisis are major industrial producers, but this is now beginning to extend horizontally as well.”

Cutisteanu added that the national level energy consumption curb no longer matches industrial consumption but rather household, with peak consumption now between 6:00-7:00 p.m., when people go home.

“I am expecting that some suppliers will no longer be able to carry on and get out of the business, expecially because there are uncertainties connected to energy acquisition,” said the Cutisteanu. Ion Lungu, President of the Romanian Association of Electrical Energy Suppliers (AFEER) and General Manager of CEZ Trade, also expects bankruptcies in the field, adding that this year will be about survival for most players, except for those who have long-term contracts with producers.