For the first time in history, Spain resorts to consuming its gas reserves in the middle of summer
The Novosti news agency reported that Spain has begun using stored gas for the winter due to electricity shortages to power air conditioners for the first time in the country's history.
According to the agency, citing data from the Association of European Gas Infrastructure Operators, Spain pumped 39.4 million cubic meters of gas from its gas storage facilities between July 2 and 14. The country continued to consume this gas for 13 consecutive days; this gas is pumped into storage facilities and stored during the summer in preparation for the winter heating season.
This is the first time this has happened in the history of monitoring. The association has been providing the data since 2011.
Spain not only withdrew gas from its storage facilities but also halted its production. The average fill rate of the country's underground gas storage facilities reached 73.3% in July, the lowest level for that month since 2021.
The reason for the need to use winter reserves now is the extremely high temperatures. Spaniards are using air conditioning extensively, electricity consumption is increasing, and gas-fired power plants are increasing their output, thus requiring more fuel.
