"The production of renewable energy supplied 73% of electricity consumption in Portugal in the first three quarters of the year", indicated the manager of the national electricity grid, highlighting that "the production of solar energy was responsible for 10% of this supply, an increase of 35% compared to the previous year, with hydroelectric energy accounting for 31%, wind energy for 26%, biomass for 6%, while natural gas production supplied 8%".

According to the same data, the remaining 19% corresponds to imported energy, and that, “in September, renewable production supplied 55% of consumption, non-renewable production 10%, while the remaining 35% corresponded to imported energy”. On the other hand, in the month of September, electricity consumption obtained “a year-on-year growth of 2.3%, or 3.9% correcting for the effects of temperature and number of working days, maintaining the rate of increase that has been seen since January, which stands at 1.8%, or 2.4%”.

In the period between January and September, “the hydroelectric capability index registered 1.33, the wind capability index 1.07 and the solar capability index 0.96 (historical averages of 1)”, said REN. In the natural gas market, “there was a reduction in consumption related to the contraction of the electricity generation sector, reaching a drop of 27%”, and in the “electricity market segment there was a drop of 67%, while in the conventional segment, which includes the remaining customers, there was a positive year-on-year variation of 0.9%”.

REN also indicated that at the end of the third quarter, “natural gas consumption recorded a year-on-year drop of 23%”, which resulted from the 68% drop in the electricity market and a 2.1% growth in the conventional market.