Lisbon, Sept. 1, 2026 (Lusa) - Electricity consumption in Portugal rose by 3.1% between January and August, with solar generation reaching a new peak last month, according to figures released by REN.
According to the same information, in August, electricity consumption in Portugal «continued its upward trend, rising by 1.2% compared with the same month last year, or by 2.2% after adjusting for the effects of temperature and the number of working days».
Meanwhile, for the period from January to August, «consumption showed an increase of 3.1% compared with the same period last year, or 3% when the same factors are taken into account».
According to REN, solar power generation reached «a new peak output of around 3,850 megawatts in August, in line with the growth in installed capacity».
REN highlighted that during August, «weather conditions were less favourable for wind and solar power generation, with productivity indices of 0.87 and 0.82 respectively (historical average equal to 1)».
As for hydroelectric generation, «inflow levels were higher than average, although this had little impact as it was a summer month».
It therefore noted that, in the series, «renewable generation supplied 52% of national electricity consumption, non-renewable generation accounted for 12%, whilst the remaining 36% came from imported energy».
Even so, electricity imports «reached a new high, exceeding 5,200 megawatts, following the recent upgrade of the interconnector with Spain», according to the same data.
Solar generation, meanwhile, despite less favourable conditions, benefited from the increase in installed capacity, the national electricity grid operator highlighted.
«In the first eight months of the year, renewable generation supplied 66 per cent of consumption, broken down into hydroelectric (25%) and wind (23%), photovoltaic (13%) and biomass (5%)», whilst natural gas generation «accounted for 14% of consumption, whilst the remaining 20% was accounted for by imports».
According to REN, the national supply of natural gas came entirely from the Sines LNG terminal, whilst the interconnection with Spain recorded an export surplus equivalent to around one-third of national consumption.
«Between January and August, natural gas consumption rose by 2.2% compared with the same period last year,» it noted, with the electricity generation sector growing by 7.4%.
Nigeria and the United States were the main sources of the gas consumed in Portugal in the first eight months of the year, accounting for 57% and 31% of the total respectively.
Russia, for its part, accounted for 6%, whilst the remaining 6% came from the interconnection with Spain.
ALN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
