Electricity Consumption Spikes Due to Heat

Domestic electricity consumption rose this week to the highest level of the summer as a result of the heatwave, but the current levels are significantly lower than in previous years, the financial news website portfolio.hu reports.

The peak could be broken again in the first half of next week with the arrival of another heatwave.

The Hungarian electricity system (gross) load peaked at 6,093 MW on Wednesday July 12 at around 20:00 hours, exceeding the peak of 6,054 MW reached on June 22 (around 21:30 hours), the highest level so far this summer, according to data from Mavir, the Hungarian Transmission System Operator Company Ltd.

The two peaks were unsurprisingly set during the first two heatwaves of the summer of 2023, and there is a chance that this year's record will be broken again during the third heatwave that hits the country this weekend, particularly in the first half of next week. (Lower economic activity over the weekend will lead to lower energy demand.)

However, the absolute record of 6,940 MW set on June 23, 2021 is unlikely to be in danger for the time being, as system load – along with monthly electricity consumption data – has fallen significantly over the past year or so compared to earlier, presumably in no small part due to rising energy prices.

Increased use of air conditioners is one of the main drivers of electricity consumption peaks during heat waves, but higher electricity prices are presumably causing many people to conserve on air conditioning, the website notes.