• Spanish demand for natural gas in 2019 has risen to 294 TWh, an increase of 16.9% compared to the same period last year
• This increase is due to an extraordinary demand for natural gas for electricity generation and a growing demand for gas in industry
• The replacement of coal by natural gas has been the main factor that has led to a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions in the power generation mix with respect to the same period last year
The demand for natural gas in Spain increased 16.9% in the first nine months of 2019 over the same period the previous year, reaching 294 TWh, the highest cumulative figure since 2009. This increase was mainly due to an extraordinary demand for natural gas for electricity generation and higher industrial consumption of natural gas.
The demand for natural gas for electricity generation reached 85 TWh from January to September, an increase of 99% compared to the same months in 2018. This extraordinary increase is due to the greater use of natural gas as opposed to coal in the thermal gap in a context with more competitive natural gas prices, in addition to low hydroelectricity generation.
Industrial demand, which represents around 54% of total natural gas consumption, reached 160 TWh in the first nine months of the year, up 3% on the same period last year. This is the highest figure at the end of September since disaggregated data for industrial consumption has been collected. Demand grew in almost all industrial sectors, particularly in services and paper manufacturing.
Emissions reduction
The replacement of coal by natural gas has been the main factor that has led to a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions in the power generation mix from January to September 2019 with respect to the same period last year.
In a context of energy transition, these data show the important role that natural gas plays in guaranteeing supply and as a back-up for renewable energies at times of record demand.
NB: This information is provisional pending definitive figures
