Data centers in Romania represent 3% of national electricity consumption

Data centers in Romania consume about 1.5 billion kWh of electricity annually, which represents about 3% of the total of about 50,818 billion kWh nationwide, according to Tema Energy, Data Center Forum Romania conference’s organizer, now in its fifth edition.

In 2019 this percentage was 2.1%, according to Tema Energy estimates, but the intense digitalization in recent years, the emergence of new data centers, as well as server farms processing cryptocurrencies contribute to the increase in consumption. This phenomenon has become more widespread, with the European Commission expecting electricity consumption in data centers to exceed 3.2% in 2030.

Given that 35-40% of a data center’s operational expenses are allocated to electricity, the price increases of recent months will affect the profitability of players in this market and therefore lead to higher prices, according to Tema Energy.

In Romania, according to stock exchange data, the price of electricity on the spot market (Next Day Market – PZU) in January 2022 was 949 lei/MWh, 3.5 times higher than the price recorded in the same month last year (271 lei/MWh).

Also in February, the price was almost four times (3.98) higher – 932 lei/MWh in 2022, compared to 234 lei/MWh in February 2021.

“For the 2022 edition of the Data Center Forum Romania, we made a map of the main data centers in Romania, in which context we also estimated electricity consumption. The figures are increasing, from 2.1% in 2019 to 3% in 2022, both because new operators have appeared and the surface area of the data rooms has increased, but also because the processing power of the equipment has steadily developed in recent years. At the same time, the digital resources consumed by companies and individuals in Romania are growing rapidly. Every videoconferencing session, every credit card payment, and every film watched online consumes electricity and involves intense and complex digital processes that take place in a data center. Even though most data center operators are looking for solutions to increase energy efficiency and reduce consumption, the massive price increase cannot be mitigated and will be reflected in the price of services to users. Both private and public data centers, operated by governmental organizations, are under this pressure,” says Mihai Manole, Tema Energy CEO, organizer of the DataCenter Forum.

Data Center Forum is the only event dedicated to the data center industry in Romania. The fifth one takes place on 25 May in physical format at the “Face Convention Center” in Bucharest and brings together Romanian and foreign experts from leading companies. The event addresses topics such as energy efficiency, carbon footprint, building regulations, security, sustainability, etc.

Participation is free of charge by registering on www.datacenter-forum.ro.