The demand for natural gas in Spain in the first half of the year grew by 9% in relation to the same period last year, reaching 195 TWh. This is the highest reading since 2010 for the first six months of any year. The increase was mainly due to higher deliveries of gas for electricity generation and to higher industrial consumption.
Industrial demand, which accounted for 56% of the total natural gas demand, grew in the first half of the year by 4% over the same period of 2018, reaching 110 TWh. This is the highest figure for the first six months of the year since disaggregated data for industrial consumption has been collected. Demand grew in almost all industrial sectors, particularly in services and paper manufacturing.
Demand for natural gas from the electricity sector grew in the first half of the year by 66% compared to the same period last year, reaching 43 TWh, the highest figure in the last 8 years. The rise is due to lower hydroelectricity production and a reduction in the use of coal.
As a result of heatwave conditions, demand on Friday, 28 June, for combined cycle power stations reached 526 GWh, the highest daily figure for the summer period since 2010.
NB: This information is provisional pending definitive figures
