Electricity consumption rose 3.6% in May

Electricity consumption in mainland Portugal rose by 3.8% in May (or 3.6%, after adjusting for temperature and the number of business days), compared with the same period last year. In the first five months of 2026, year-over-year consumption growth stood at 3.6% (3.4% after adjusting for temperature and business days).

In May, renewable production supplied 61% of consumption and non-renewable production 11%, while the remaining 28% came from imported energy. Year-to-date, renewable production supplied 73% of electricity consumption, with hydro accounting for 32%, wind for 27%, solar for 10%, and biomass for 5%. Natural gas production supplied 15% of consumption, with the remaining 12% coming from imports.

The hydroelectric productivity index for May stood at 0.82, while wind and solar recorded indices of 0.83 and 0.84, respectively (historical averages of 1). From January to May, the hydroelectric productivity index stood at 1.24, the wind productivity index at 1.03, and the solar productivity index at 0.75. It is worth noting that solar production reached an all-time high in May, approaching 3,400 MW.

In the natural gas market, consumption in May recorded a year-on-year decline of 11%, resulting from drops of 1.9% in the conventional segment and 31% in the electricity generation segment. The national system was supplied entirely from the Sines LNG terminal, with the national system remaining an exporter via the interconnection with Spain.

In the first five months of the year, gas consumption grew by 8.9%, with the electricity generation segment growing by 36%, offsetting the slight 0.5% decline in the conventional segment. From January to May, 90% of the national supply was provided by the Sines terminal, while the remaining 10% was received via the interconnection with Spain.