Portugal's Q1 2026 Electricity Consumption Hits an All-Time High at 14.6 TWh — Renewables Carry 80%, But Storm Kristin's Grid Damage Forced a 54% Jump in Gas-Fired Power

Portugal's transmission operator REN (Redes Energéticas Nacionais) on Thursday published its Q1 2026 bulletin, and the headline number is a record: electricity consumption from the beginning of January to the end of March reached 14.6 TWh, 3.8% above the previous first-quarter peak of 14.1 TWh set in 2025. Adjusted for temperature and working-day effects, the increase is 3.9%.

Underneath that top line, two numbers tell the more interesting story. Renewable sources covered 80% of consumption — a strong performance by any European yardstick. But natural-gas consumption at the country's combined-cycle power stations jumped 54% year-on-year, a surge that has less to do with decarbonisation strategy and everything to do with what Kristin did to the grid in January.

The Renewable Mix

REN's breakdown of the 80% renewable share is remarkably balanced for Portugal. Hydroelectric output contributed 38% of the quarter's total demand, helped by generous reservoir levels that carried over from the wet final weeks of 2025. Wind delivered 32%, its usual winter peak. Solar photovoltaic — still the fastest-growing capacity class in the system — added 6%, and biomass rounded out the picture at 4%. Non-renewable sources, dominated by the two CCGT units at Ribatejo and Lares, provided 16%. The remaining 3% came from net imports across the Iberian interconnection.

Why Gas Burn Jumped

The 54% year-on-year rise in natural gas consumed for electricity has a concrete explanation. When depression Kristin came ashore in January, it left a non-trivial share of distribution infrastructure out of service for weeks, and REN itself had to impose restrictions on certain renewable assets while repairs were carried out. The two CCGT plants absorbed the slack. The effect is visible in the overall gas market: Q1 gas demand rose 13.8% year-on-year across all uses, and the electricity-generation segment alone accounted for more than a third of total consumption.

The origin of those gas molecules is also worth noting. 82% of the country's gas supply came through the Sines LNG terminal this quarter. Of that, 37% was Nigerian LNG, 36% was American LNG, and 10% was Russian LNG — a reminder that, despite the political rhetoric, Russian gas still reaches Portuguese burners when traders can legally land it. The remaining 18% of supply arrived through the Spanish interconnection.

March on Its Own

Breaking out March alone sharpens the picture. Monthly electricity consumption dipped 0.6% against March 2025 on an unadjusted basis, and turned positive at 1.4% after seasonal adjustment. Renewables covered 76% of March demand, non-renewables 15%, and the interconnection balance jumped to 9%. That higher import share is typical for March as hydro and wind ease off and before solar fully ramps into summer mode.

The Policy Read

For policymakers, the Q1 report is a mixed but instructive card. Portugal is generating enough renewable electricity to cover four-fifths of a record quarter — a confirmation that the build-out of wind, hydro and solar capacity is doing what it was supposed to. At the same time, a single storm was capable of pushing the gas-fired backfill up by more than half, with LNG from three continents keeping the lights on. For a country that imports effectively all of its natural gas, that is less a celebration than a reminder that resilience planning is still the next big item on the energy agenda.