Cold Weather Brings Electricity Consumption Record

Hungary's electricity consumption record has been broken due to the sharp cooling of the weather that began on Thursday, the Hungarian Independent Transmission Operator Company Ltd. (Mavir) informed the state news agency MTI on Friday.

According to verified data, the national system load reached 7,119 megawatts on Thursday between 5:45 p.m. and 6 p.m., a historic record. The previous peak, 7,105 megawatts, was registered on December 5, 2019 by the system operator.

According to the system operator, depending on the weather, another record cannot be ruled out this year. The peak may recur or the consumption may even be higher in similar weather conditions, in cold weather, on weekdays, on weekday evenings, but this cannot be predicted.

The reasons for the outstanding winter power consumption include the need for longer lighting due to shorter daytime periods and the increased demand for heating in office buildings, public buildings and apartments and in single-family homes due to the cold weather. Also, more and more heating solutions, such as heat pumps, require electricity.

On average, in cold and overcast winter weather, Mavir registers values ​​around 6,900-7,100 megawatts on working days, immediately after sunset.