Electricity Consumption in Hungary Down in September

Gross electricity consumption in Hungary decreased by 2.3% in September compared to the same period of the previous year, according to a September report published by the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (MEKH) this Friday.

Maximum system load was also 3.8% lower than in September last year. The development of domestic production was determined by maintenance at the Paks nuclear power station. Paks' monthly average hourly production was 1,496 megawatt-hours, 16% lower than a year ago but 9% higher than the previous month. Due to maintenance, lignite-fired generation was 9.5% lower than in August. In line with the time of year, renewable generation fell 26%, with solar generation peaking on September 28 at 1,702 megawatts.

MEKH also reports that aggregate consumption in the five largest European electricity markets – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK – fell by 2.5% in September compared to the same period last year, while consumption in the Central European region fell by 5.9%.

Production in the five countries also fell by 3.5% year-on-year in September. The decline in French production was particularly marked, falling by 25%, mainly due to prolonged maintenance of nuclear units. In the five markets as a whole, fossil-based generation increased by three percentage points and renewables by six percentage points in the energy mix. Most of the increase in renewable generation was due to growth in wind generation. At the same time, the weight of nuclear generation decreased by nine percentage points.

Spot prices fell sharply, from an average of EUR 500 per megawatt-hour in August to an average of EUR 390 per megawatt-hour the next day in September. The next day's prices fluctuated between EUR 132 and EUR 618 per megawatt-hour, MEKH said.