Renewables supply 52% of energy consumption penalised by temperatures below normal in july

Electricity consumption fell 3.2% in July, compared to the same period in the previous year, penalised by temperatures below normal for the season.  When correcting for the effects of temperature and for the number of working days, there was a year-on-year growth of 0.5%. In the first seven months of the year, consumption grew, compared to the same period of the previous year, by 2.2%, or 3.0% when correcting for the effects of temperature and number of working days, while recording a fall of 2.2% compared to the same period of 2019.

Conditions for renewable production were favourable this month, with the hydro and wind capability factors recording 1.63 and 1.12 respectively (historical average of 1). In the case of hydro plants, however, since this is a summer period, the value is always scarcely significant.  Total renewable production supplied 52% of consumption, non-renewable production supplied 34%, and the import balance ensured the remaining 14%.

For the period from January to July, the hydropower capability index was 1.13 (historical average of 1) and the wind-power capability index was 0.99 (historical average of 1). Renewable generation supplied 66% of consumption, split between hydroelectric power with 30%, wind power with 26%, biomass with 7% and photovoltaic power, which for the first time exceeded 200 GWh of monthly production, with 3.3%. Non-renewable production supplied 30% of consumption, with natural gas accounting for 28% and coal for 2%. The remaining 4% accounted for imported energy.

In the natural gas market, there was an 18% decrease in July compared to the same period of the previous year, reflecting the 36% drop in the power production market, this year with greater availability of renewable energy, while the conventional segment contracted 0.5%.

At the end of the first seven months of the year, the consumption of natural gas recorded a positive evolution of 1%, with an increase of 7.6% in the conventional segment offsetting the reduction of 11.5% in the electricity market.  Compared to the same period in 2019, there was a drop of around 4%.