Electricity consumption in the first trimester was the highest ever
Electricity consumption in the first three months of 2025 was the highest ever. According to data released Tuesday by REN, the total consumed was 14.1 Terawatts Hora (TWh), beating 13.9 TWH registered in the first quarter of 2010.
According to REN – national energy networks, compared to the same period last year, there was an increase of 2.7% in electricity consumption (1.9% with temperature correction and business days) in the first quarter of this year.
Renewable production fueled 81%of electricity consumption, with the hydroelectric component representing 39%, wind 29%, 7%photovoltaic and 5%biomass.
Production from natural gas supplied 12% of consumption, while the balance of exchanges with foreigners fueled the remaining 7%.
Given only the month of March, the consumption of electricity increased by 2.8% (1.4% with correction of temperature effects and business days), compared to the same month of 2024.
Renewable production has supplied 88% of electricity consumption, the non -renewable 9%, while the monthly balance of exchanges with the foreigner, although lower than in recent months, has supplied the remaining 3% of national consumption.
In March, month marked for several rain days, the weather conditions were favorable to energy production from renewable sources, particularly for hydroelectric, which had a productability rate of 1.86 (historical average of 1).
The wind productability index stood at 1.07, in a month when the usual wind tip was reached with 5,078 megawatts (MW) on the 19th, marked by the storm Martinho.
Already solar energy, although continuing to maintain sharp growth, has a low weight in the production mix, with a productability rate of 0.71.
Regarding natural gas, the overall consumption reduction trend has maintained, with a homologous descent of 3.7% in March, resulting from a 4.7% break in the conventional segment and a 0.3% rise in the electricity production segment.
At the end of the quarter, annual gas consumption registered a marginal decrease of 0.2%, resulting from the 20% growth in the electricity production segment, although a 5.7% contraction was verified in the conventional segment, which encompasses other consumers.
The supply of the national system was made fundamentally from the Sines Net Natural Natural Gas Terminal (LNG), with 76% of national consumption, although some movement has also been registered by interconnecting with Spain corresponding to the remaining 24% of consumption.
The Sines Terminal fueled 93% of national consumption, mainly originally from Nigeria (49% of gas unloaded in Sines) and the US (35%).
