(AGENPARL) – mer 21 febbraio 2024 Positive signs of growth in industrial consumption and services sector
TERNA: ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION UP BY 2,1% IN
JANUARY
Renewable capacity installed in Italy continues to grow, with an additional 687 MW
operational in January 2024. Increased production from all sources: +47.7% hydroelectric,
+25.5% photovoltaic and + 22.8% wind power
Thermoelectric production further reduced by 13% compared to the same period in 2023:
huge drop in coal-based production (-85%)
For the first time Terna publishes IMSER index, which monitors electricity consumption in
the services sector using data from distributors
Rome, 21 February 2024 – Italian electricity consumption rose by 2.1% in January compared to 2023
figures. According to data gathered by Terna, the company that manages the Italian national
transmission grid, January electricity demand was 26.7 billion kWh.
More specifically, last month there was one more working day (22 instead of 21) and the average
monthly temperature was the same as January 2023, but was approximately 1.2°C higher than the
ten-year average. The figure for electricity demand, adjusted for seasonal, calendar and temperature
effects, showed an increase of 1.4%. At the regional level, the trend in January was upwards across
the country: +2.9% in the North, +2% in Central Italy and +0.4% in the South and Islands.
Terna’s IMCEI index, which considers the industrial consumption of energy-intensive companies,
recorded growth of 3.5% compared to January 2023. Looking at individual sectors, there were
increases in paper, iron and steel, transport, and cement, lime and gypsum, while there were
decreases in non-ferrous metals, ceramics and glass, chemicals, and engineering.
The short-term figure for electricity demand, adjusted for seasonal, calendar and temperature
effects, was slightly up in December 2023 (+0.3%). The IMCEI index was also positive, at +1.8%.
For the first time, Terna has published the IMSER monthly services index. Prepared with the
cooperation of five distribution grid operators (E-Distribuzione, UNARETI, A-Reti, Edyna and Deval),
the index enables monitoring of approximately 80% of the entire Italian services sector.
This index, with a 2019 fixed base, enables analysis of the trend in electricity consumption for the
sector with a breakdown by product category (hotels, restaurants and bars, commerce, education,
transport, etc.). Considering the time frames required for acquisition and processing of the data, the
IMSER index is necessarily around two months behind the IMCEI index. The most recent figure,
regarding November 2023, showed an increase of +4.7% compared to November 2022.
Looking at the period from January to November 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, there
is a decrease (-1.2%). Comparison with 2022 shows two phases: the first six months saw an increase
that continued until July, until it began slowing in the second half of the year, particularly in the last
quarter.
Returning to Terna’s monthly figures, January 2024 saw 79.1% of Italian electricity demand met by
national production, and the remainder (20.9%) by the balance of electricity exchanged with foreign
countries. The monthly foreign balance was 5.6 TWh, +18% compared to the already high figure
recorded in January 2023 (4.7 TWh), and reaching the highest level recorded since 2016, confirming
the increasingly strategic role of foreign interconnections both in terms of security and economics of
the system.
Looking at the breakdown, net national production was 21.2 billion kWh. Renewables covered 33.7%
of electricity demand (27.7% in January 2023). There was an increase in hydroelectric (+47.7%),
wind (+22.8%) and photovoltaic power (+25.5%). Geothermal production remained stable. There
was a decrease in thermal production as a direct consequence of growth in renewables and imports:
-13.6% compared to January 2023. Specifically, we can note a huge drop in coal-based production:
-85% compared to the same period last year.
According to Terna’s findings presented in the monthly report, considering all renewable sources,
2024 is seeing continued growth in renewable capacity, which has now risen to 687 MW. This is 389
MW (+131%) greater than the same period in 2023.
A detailed analysis of provisional 2021 and 2022 monthly electricity demand is available in the
“Monthly Report on the Electricity System”, available under the section “Electric
System>>Publications>>Monthly Report” at http://www.terna.it.
Real-time data on the operation of the national electricity system can also be found on the Terna
app, available on all app stores:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.terna.energia&hl=it