Renewables supply 91% of electricity consumption in March – Society

The production of renewable energy supplied 91% of electricity consumption in the country during March, being the third consecutive month with values ​​above 80%, REN reported this Monday.

According to data released by Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), renewable energy supplied 91% of electricity consumption in March, after 88% recorded in February and 81% in January.

In 2023, recalled the manager of the electrical and gas systems, renewables were responsible for 61% of electrical energy consumption in the country, a total of 31.2 terawatt-hours (TWh), the highest value ever in the national system .

From January to March, renewable production was responsible for 89% of consumption, the highest value for a first quarter since 1978, when the national system did not yet have a relevant thermal component.

In the first quarter, the hydroelectric producibility index was 1.38, the wind producibility index was 1.07 and the solar producibility index was 0.87 (historical averages of 1).

Hydroelectric energy was responsible for supplying 47% of consumption, wind energy 31%, photovoltaic energy 6% and biomass 5%, while natural gas production supplied 11% of consumption.

The balance of exchanges with foreigners was slightly export-oriented, equivalent to around 1% of national consumption.

In March, electricity consumption registered a year-on-year growth of 1.6%, or 2.9% correcting for the effects of temperature and number of working days, while in the quarter there was an increase of 1.1%, or 2.6% with that correction.

In the third month of the year, hydroelectric production recorded a producibility index of 1.78 (historical average of 1) and a new maximum power delivered to the grid of 7,280 megawatts (MW) on the 11th.

The wind productivity index stood at 1.15 while solar recorded a productivity index of 0.86 (historical averages of 1) and the monthly balance of exchanges with abroad was exporting, which is happening for the first time this year. year, equivalent to around 11% of national consumption.

In the natural gas market, there was a year-on-year decline in consumption of 5.8% in March, driven by the electricity production segment, which saw a year-on-year drop of 24%, due to the high availability of renewable energy.

In the conventional segment, which covers the remaining consumers, consumption was practically in line with that seen in the same month of the previous year (decrease of 0.1%).

At the end of the first quarter, annual accumulated gas consumption registered a year-on-year decline of 10%, representing the lowest consumption since 2014, with the electricity production segment contracting by 43% compared to the same period last year, while the conventional grew 5.9%.