Record Power Consumption in the Heatwave

Domestic electricity consumption has soared to record levels in the heatwave, and in the coming days the summer peak load on the Hungarian electricity system could be broken again, the financial website portfolio.hu reports.

Looking at the summer of 2021, it was for the first time this Monday at noon that the national system load reached and exceeded 6,000 MW and peaked at 6,458 MW after 7 pm. After temperatures rose even higher on Tuesday, consumption continued to increase, with system loads increasing to around 6,660 MW before 7 p.m., according to unconfirmed data from the Hungarian Independent Electricity Transmission System Operator MAVIR.

Monday's figure was already this summer's record, while Tuesday's marks the highest ever summer system load in Hungary, consigning to the past the record of 6,633 MW set on 27 June 2019.

The current surge in electricity consumption in Hungary is largely due to the spread and increased use of air conditioning and heat pump cooling. As the heat is expected to intensify and the heat wave is forecast to peak on Thursday, the National Meteorological Service predicts that daily peak system loads could rise further. But even if a new historic summer peak load record is set, it is unlikely to be an absolute record.