Electricity Generation and Consumption Records Broken

Gross system load and annual gross electricity consumption peaked last year, and solar power generation also exceeded previous records, according to a summary published on the website of Mavir Hungarian Independent Trans­mission Operator Company Ltd. on Wednesday.

According to the data, the record for electricity consumption in Hungary was broken on December 9 last year, with the gross system load reaching a quarterly average of 7,361 megawatts (MW). This was significantly higher than the maximum of 7,095 MW recorded in 2020 and the previous historical record high of 7,105 MW recorded in 2019.

The record consumption in 2021 occurred on a daily average temperature of 0.8 degrees Celsius, on a not particularly cold day. According to Mavir, the clear reason for the increase is the rise in the number and consumption of industrial, residential and small business customers. The system operator also added that despite the relatively mild weather in winter, the excess consumption of decorative lights and air conditioning in summer can cause outliers.

According to preliminary data registered by Mavir, total gross electricity consumption last year was 46.9 terawatt hours (TWh), almost 4% more than in 2020. Consumption in 2021 is also an absolute historical record, despite the fact that it excludes the production of small household-scale power plants, typically solar panels.

In 2021, too, it was not possible to meet consumer demand without imported energy, which accounted for 27.18% of the total, about 1.31 basis points higher than the previous year, Mavir said.

No generating unit larger than 50 MW was connected to the Hungarian electricity system last year, but the installed capacity of the system reached 10,313 MW on December 31. This represented an increase of around 404 MW compared to the end of 2020. This is the highest (theoretical) installed capacity the Hungarian electricity system has ever had, the system operator pointed out.

This change is mainly due to new photovoltaic generators joining the system, it said.

By the end of the year, the installed capacity of industrial-scale solar power generators of 50 kW and above had almost reached 1,824 MW. Including the installed capacity of generators below 50 kW, solar PV capacity increased from 2,125 MW at the end of 2020 to 2,851 MW by December 31 last year, according to preliminary data. This exceeds the capacity of the Paks nuclear power plant.

A historic peak of 1,485 MW of domestic solar generation was registered on May 9 last year.