ENTSOG GRIP South - Main Report

Nevertheless, gas for power generation is in competitionwith other sources of elec- tricity, and the part playedby gas in electricity generation can vary according to the hydrologic regime, the gas prices (compared to other sources of power and flexibil- ity, such as coal), the electricity demand andprices andpolitical decisions (price of CO ² permits, subsidies on renewable energy, etc.). The yearly modulation factor is defined as the daily average gas demand divided by the daily peak demand. A high yearlymodulation factor means demand is rela- tively uniform. A low yearly modulation factor shows that a high demand is set; to service that peak demand, capacity is sitting idle for long periods. As canbe seen inFigure 3.10, France’s total yearlymodulation factor is lower com- pared to Portugal and Spain. This is mainly due to the seasonal modulation in France that ismuch less pronounced inPortugal and Spain. To copewith this sea- sonal modulation, France has developed important underground storage facilities.

%

1.0

100

80

0.75

60

66

0.5

40

0.25

30

20

4

0

0

France

Portugal

Spain

France

Portugal

Spain

Conventional Demand

Power Generation

Total demand

Figure 3.10: Yearlymodulation factor for conventional demand, power generation demand and total demand, for France, Portu- gal and Spain

Figure 3.11: Percentage of each country (France, Portugal and Spain) in the peak demand of the South Region

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ENTSOG–GRIPSouth 2013–2022