Electricity consumption rose by 2.4% in April

Electricity consumption in Portugal rose by 2.4% year-on-year in April, or by 1.7% when adjusted for temperature and the number of working days. In the first four months of the year, consumption continued to rise, with an increase of 3.5% compared with the same period last year, or 3.4% after adjusting for those factors.

Generation indices were below the historical average (1), with the greatest impact on hydroelectric power, which recorded an index of 0.57. Wind power generation recorded an index of 0.72 and solar power 0.84. Overall, renewable generation supplied 60% of national electricity consumption, whilst non-renewable generation accounted for 14%. The remaining 26% of consumption was met through imports.

In the year to date, between January and April, renewable production supplied 76% of consumption, broken down into hydroelectric (34%), wind (29%), photovoltaic (8%) and biomass (5%). During this period, the hydroelectric productivity index stood at 1.32, wind at 1.06 and solar at 0.71. Natural gas production accounted for 16% of consumption, whilst the balance of trade with other countries provided the remaining 8%.

In the natural gas market, the upward trend in consumption observed in recent months continued in April, with a year-on-year increase of 16%. This growth was driven by the electricity generation segment, which recorded a 94% increase compared with the same month of the previous year. Conversely, the conventional segment, which covers all other consumers, recorded a contraction of 1.3%.

The national system was supplied entirely from the Sines LNG terminal, with gas coming mainly from Nigeria (62%) and the United States (38%). Through interconnections with Spain, exports amounted to around 26% of national electricity consumption.

At the end of April, cumulative annual natural gas consumption showed a year-on-year increase of 14%, driven by a 60% rise in the electricity generation segment. The conventional segment recorded a marginal decrease of 0.1%, remaining virtually in line with the previous year’s figures. Between January and April, the Sines terminal supplied 88% of national gas consumption, sourced mainly from Nigeria (50%), the United States (42%) and Russia (8%), with the remaining 12% supplied via interconnections with Spain.