Spanish Gas Demand in July Breaks Record
Demand for gas in Spain this July grew by 17% year on year, the largest monthly increase during the summer months since 2008, said Enagas July 31. Factors that explained the hike have also seen Portugal and Algeria respectively post new 1H gas and daily power records.
Spanish national gas grid operator Enagas said that demand for gas in power generation during July will have reached 8.2 TWh (0.763bn m3), the highest monthly figure since February 2012, due to very low hydroelectricity production and a scheduled shutdown of one of Spain’s nuclear plants; that figure reflects a 53% increase relative to July 2016 gas use by Spain's power plants.
Combined cycle plants (CCGTs) became Spain's primary source of generation for a continuous ten-day period during the month, added Enagas.
Industry's use of gas though was also higher year on year, up 6.2%, whereas residential use remained stable at last July's levels.
For the year to date, the demand for natural gas in Spain has increased by about 7.6% compared to January-July 2016, of which use in power plants up 25.5%, of which delivery to power producers grew by 25.5%, and to industrial users by 7.8% in line with Spain’s growing economy. It did not provide total amounts for year-to-date, or for July's total.
Portugal's gas consumption in 1H2017 was the highest ever at 33.6 TWh (3.1bn m3), reported the country's gas and power grid operator REN July 27. Reduced hydro-electric availability across Iberia was cited in 1H results by Spain's Gas Natural as well as Portugal's Galp.
Across the Mediterranean, Algerian state power generator Sonelgaz reported July 31 that the country's power consumption hit a new peak of 13,881 MW at 3pm local time July 30, which was 8.1% higher than the previous peak on August 1 2016. It did not give a breakdown of fuels used - but said high demand was linked to very high temperatures, and urged consumers to reduce power use particularly between the hours of 1pm-4pm and 8pm-11pm.
Mark Smedley