O volume of imported electricity it was the “highest ever” of the national electricity system in the first five months of the year, with 21% of power coming through electrical connections to Spain.
This Friday, REN reported that imports reached 4,402 gigawatt-hours (GWh) between January and May “compared to the previous 4,203 GWh recorded during the same period in 2008.”
The accumulated balance of imports was slightly above the country’s average monthly consumption before May, which stood at 4,253 GWh, according to the energy system operator.
Since the beginning of the year, electricity consumption has increased by 2.7%, or 3.0% adjusted for temperature and working days, while the hydroelectric generation index has remained at about a third of the historical values over the five-month period. index 0.35 for a historical mean of 1).
The availability of resources for wind power production was 0.95, and solar power productivity was above the historical average of 1.06.
“Despite the very low importance of hydraulics, renewable energy provided 49% of electricity consumption from January to May,” emphasizes REN.
Wind power generation accounts for one fifth of the supply, hydropower generation has reached 12%, while 7% comes from biomass combustion and 5% is photovoltaic in origin.
During these five months, “natural gas production provided 30% of consumption, while the remaining 21% accounted for the balance of imports.”
In May, the upward trend in electricity consumption continued, up 2.9% or 1.9% year-on-year after adjusting for the effects of temperature and working days.
“The hydropower regime remained dry, with an index of 0.42” and the wind regime was also below average (0.88), in contrast to the photovoltaic regime (1.05).
During this period, 22% of the demand was covered by imported energy and 33% by non-renewable electricity.
Thus, the natural gas market grew by 3.2%, since, despite a 22% drop in the traditional market (companies and families), gas use in power plants increased by 70% compared to May 2021.
The supply of natural gas to the country was “completely carried out from the LNG terminal.” [gás natural liquefeito] Sines, supporting exports through the relationship with Spain, which this month accounted for about 16% of national consumption,” REN clarifies. Since the beginning of the year, Sines has received cargo from 31 vessels.
From January to May, “annual cumulative consumption of natural gas was almost in line” with the same period last year – an increase of 0.2%, with a fall of 23% in the traditional segment and an increase of 67%. % in the electricity generation segment. The average monthly consumption for this period was 5133 GWh.
As of May 31, the country’s underground storage facilities were 92.5% loaded and had 3,302 GWh.
