The electricity consumption of large and medium-sized companies increased 0.7% in April compared with the same month the previous year, according to data from the Red Eléctrica Index (IRE). Broken down by sector, industrial consumption increased 0.4% and consumption in the services sector grew by 1%. The effects of seasonal and working patterns were factored in when calculating this data.

According to the IRE, in the last twelve months, the electricity consumption of these companies, once the effects of seasonal and working patterns were factored in, has increased by 1.1% over the same period last year. By sector, industrial consumption rose by 1.2% and the services sector fell by 0.4%.

Compared to April 2015, of the five activities with the highest electricity demand the metallurgy industry decreased by 6.4% and the chemical industry fell 2.7%, whilst the manufacturing industry for other non-metallic mineral products rose 4.2%, the food industry grew 5.5% and the paper industry by 0.6%.

The activities that contributed most to the growth in consumption of large companies in April were the collection, purification and distribution of water, with an increase of 16%, the manufacturing of rubber and plastic products (7.9%), the manufacturing of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (12.1%), the food industry (5.5%), and the manufacturing of electrical equipment and materials (23.1%).

The monthly electricity consumption data of each of the economic activities can be found in more detail in the IRE section of the Red Eléctrica website.

The IRE is an indicator which aims to provide information on the evolution of the electricity consumption of large and medium-sized companies, defined as those with a contracted power of over 450 kilowatts. The measurements are collected at more than 23,400 points of approximately 13,900 companies. The consumption shown in the IRE represents about 47% of the total electricity demand; the remaining share of the demand corresponds to residential consumers and other types of consumption.

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