Spanish gas demand hits record high in Aug

Spanish natural gas demand rose 18 percent in August year-on year, reaching the highest monthly growth figure in the summer period since 2008 and exceeding the previous record set in July, according to the LNG terminal operator, Enagás.

Natural gas demand in August reached 25,100 gigawatt hours (GWh).

Conventional demand, destined for domestic, commercial and industrial consumption, finished August with a growth of about 4.5%, to exceed 17,300 GWh, an all-time high for this month.

This increase was mainly the result of the greater use of natural gas by industry, which grew by about 6%. Consumption rose in most industrial sectors, particularly in the paper and metallurgy industries, Enagás said.

Demand for natural gas for power generation ended the month of August with an increase of more than 60%, to reach 7,800 GWh, the highest figure for this month since 2011. This increase was caused by very low hydroelectricity generation and a lower contribution from wind power.

To date, natural gas demand in Spain this year has grown by about 9% over the same period of 2016 owing to growth in conventional demand and delivery of natural gas for power generation, Enagás said.

Industrial demand is also growing at about 7%, demonstrating the positive evolution of the Spanish economy.