The National Energy Networks (REN), responsible for the overall management of the National Electricity System and the National Natural Gas System, added that, in the electricity generation segment, natural gas consumption recorded a year-on-year variation of 6.7%, while in the conventional segment the variation was 0.5%.

In the first eight months of the year, natural gas consumption recorded a year-on-year change of 3.2%, with a growth of 9.2% in the electricity market and 0.5% in the conventional market.

Regarding electricity consumption, temperatures close to average values for August caused a drop of 4% (with the correction of temperature effects and working days the fall was 0.7%) compared to the same month in 2018, when, on the contrary, temperatures were much higher than normal values.

As for the accumulated annual electricity consumption, at the end of the month under analysis, there was a year-on-year drop of 2% (0.8% with correction of the temperature effects and number of working days).

REN's data also showed that renewable energy production was responsible for supplying 40% of national consumption in August, non-renewable energy supplied 45% and the remaining 15% was supplied through imports.

According to REN, the dry climate has caused the hydroelectric and wind generation indices to be below the average in the first eight months of the year, with the former standing at 0.59 (historical average of 1) and the latter at 0.97 (historical average also equal to 1).

In this period, production was similarly divided between renewable and non-renewable sources, with around 45% each, the remaining 10% being supplied by imports.

In the case of renewables, wind power supplied 24% of consumption, hydroelectric 14%, biomass 5% and photovoltaic 2.3%, from the beginning of the year until the end of August.

In the non-renewable sectors, natural gas supplied 31% and coal 13% in the first eight months of the year.