Algeria’s power plants burned about 2.25bcm of natural gas in July according to Jodi, the second highest level ever, amid a heatwave which pushed peak power demand to a record 16.065GW on 12 July.

Gas burn was likely higher still in August as peak power hit a new record 16.224GW on 15 August as already scorching temperatures were exacerbated by a series of deadly fires in several regions of the country (see chart 1). This year’s high is a whopping 10.3% up on the previous record of 14.714GW set last summer. (CONTINUED - 411 WORDS)