Portugal imports record electricity

Portugal imported its greatest volume of electricity between January and May.

It was the equivalent of an entire month of consumption largely because hydropower production fell to historically low levels due to an 18 month drought while natural gas represented almost a third of consumption.
The previous record was in 2008 when Portugal imported 4203 GWh. The year the value had climbed to 4402 GWh.
For the period, electricity from renewables stood at 49% between January and May (Wind 26%, hydroelectric 12%, biomass 7% and solar 5%) according the electricity grid company REN. Natural gas production fuelled 30% of consumption, with the remainder 21% from imported sources.
Over the year to May, electricity consumption grew 2.7%-3% with a monthly like-for-like variation
of 2.9%.
The natural gas market posted growth in consumption of 3.2%. Despite a fall of 22% in the conventional gas market, this was offset by an increase in the electrical energy production segment which recorded a like-for-like increase of around 70% states REN.