RWE's power generation fell by 4.5% in 2014 (Germany)

German energy group RWE has released its 2014 results, announcing a 7.5% drop in external revenues to €48.5bn and a 25% fall in operating results to €4bn. The group's installed capacity declined from 49.3 GW to 49.1 GW in 2014. In Germany, installed capacity fell from 28.3 GW to 26.5 GW, due to the expiration of long-term contracts (2.1 GW). Total electricity production declined by 4.5% to 208 TWh, due to unplanned overhauls of lignite-fired power plants, the closure of the Didcot A hard coal-fired power plant and of the Tilbury biomass-fired power plant in the United Kingdom in 2013. Power generation dipped by 7.4% to 135.1 TWh in Germany and by 9.2% in the United Kingdom to 33.5 TWh.

Electricity sales decreased by 5% to 258.3 TWh, following the decline in generation volumes. They dropped by 4.4% in Germany (to 125 TWh) and by 4.6% in the United Kingdom (to 45.7 TWh). In 2014, the group supplied nearly 16 million customers, including 6.7m in Germany, 3.4m in the UK, 2.2m in the Netherlands and 2.1m in Hungary. Milder temperatures also contributed to a 12% drop in gas sales, to 281.3 TWh. Gas sales remained stable in Germany but fell in the Benelux region (-27%), in the UK (-15%) and in Central Europe (-17%).

Capital expenditure declined by 14% to €3.4bn. About 1/3 of the capital expenditure was allocated to the completion of new-build power station projects in the Conventional Power Generation Division. Other focal points were the expansion of renewables, particularly new onshore and offshore wind farms, and modernising network infrastructure.