In the first nine months of 2014
Electricity production increased 1.7% year-on-year
In the first nine months of 2014, the electricity production, estimated from the data on the distribution of electric energy provided by the Electricity Company of Madeira, increased by 1.7% year-on-year. Breaking down the data by source it should be highlighted that the wind and hydro sources increased by 9.3% and 7.2% compared to the same period of 2013, respectively. On the opposite side, thermal power decreased by 1.1% year-on-year. Still this is the main source representing 72% of the production mix of electricity, which totalled 642.5 Gigawatt hour in the period of reference.
Data for the 3rd quarter show that there is a steady tendency towards growth, since this is the third consecutive quarter with a year-on-year increase. In the first three quarters of 2014 the growth rates stood at 1.5%, 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively.
The production of thermal energy based on natural gas represented 15.8% of the total production mix.