1996: Nuclear power in the German power industry

Also in 1996, nuclear power contributed the largest share among all sources of energy to the supply of electricity in Germany, generating 161,1 TWh. This marks a considerable increase by almost 5% over the previous year's level. Nuclear power held a 29.4% share in the supply of electricity in Germany, and a 33.0% share in public supply. Hard coal, producing 152.7 TWh, contributed a share of 27.7%. Electricity generation from lignite rose slightly by 1.2%, reaching 144.3 TWh; its share is now 26.2%. Hydrocarbons hold an 11.5% share in gross electricity generation (to which oil merely contributes 1.3%), which is a low level by international standards. After a continuous rise over the past few years, hydroelectricity generation for the first time showed a decrease by 10.5% because of adverse water conditions. The upward trend of the economy raised the electricity requirement in industry by 1.5%. As a consequence of the long spell of cold weather net consumption by private households rose by 5.5%. For the year under review, the foreign trade balance in electricity for the first time after 1992 again showed an excess of exports over imports of 5.3 TWh.