Spain continues to increase its electricity exports and set new records amid the energy crisis. The Spanish electricity system has been sending more and more electricity to all neighboring countries for months now, and last September it reached a new historical maximum for the second time in a row, surpassing the monthly records of the entire historical series of Red Eléctrica de España (REE). It covers a period of more than thirty years, beginning in the early 1990s.
In SeptemberSpain exported a total of 3,056 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity to other countries with which it has connections (France, Portugal, Morocco and Andorra). A new record that replaces the record set in August (2,924 GWh), and one as a result of the shutdown of most of its nuclear power plants, and the other as a result of the inability to fully guarantee supply in the French and Portuguese markets due to drought and production difficulties. hydroelectric power stations respectively.
Last month, Spain imported just 179 GWh all month from its neighbors, which is a very low level as in previous months. well Spain’s export balance also broke a historical record with 2,877 GWh (previous August, with 2,798 GWh), according to the latest monthly bulletin of REE, operator of the national electricity system and manager of high voltage transmission networks.
Connection with France up to the border
France has to buy electricity from all the countries with which it is connected, as more than half of its nuclear power plants have stopped due to maintenance, corrosion problems and the danger of overheating. In September, France’s purchases from Spain broke a new record with 1,763 GWh, and the net import balance was 1,752 GWh.
According to REE data, in September Operation of interconnections between the two countries over the Pyrenees, operating at maximum capacity 98.9% of the time All month to send electricity to the French market.
Spain also increases its electricity exports to Portugal, reaching a quarter of the Portuguese market’s electricity demand. Portugal, a country highly dependent on the production of hydroelectric power plants, is suffering from the effects of drought and resorting to purchasing electricity from the Spanish market to secure the supply. Exports to Portugal reached 1,020 GWh (with 861 GWh export balance) in September, but higher levels were reached in some months of this year, with a record purchase of 1,435 GWh (net balance 1,373 GWh) in February. .