In the week of February 16, electricity demand experienced a notable decline across several major European power markets. Portugal led the downturn with a significant drop of 7.7%, marking its second consecutive week of reduced demand, largely attributed to the Carnival Tuesday holiday on February 17. Other markets also saw decreases, with the British market down by 3.4%, Spain by 2.5%, and Italy by 1.7%. France, which had recently seen an upward trend, reported a slight decrease of 0.8%.
Contrastingly, Belgium and Germany reported increases in demand, with Belgium rising by 1.5% and Germany bouncing back with a 0.7% increase after two weeks of declines. This mixed performance highlights the varying consumption patterns influenced by regional factors.
Temperature trends during this period were also varied, with milder conditions observed in Great Britain, France, and Belgium—where temperatures increased between 0.2°C and 0.7°C compared to the previous week. Conversely, Portugal, Germany, Italy, and Spain experienced cooler weather, with temperature drops ranging from 0.6°C in Portugal to a more significant decline of 1.0°C in Spain, impacting energy consumption behaviors across these countries.
Looking ahead to the week of February 23, forecasts from AleaSoft Energy Forecasting suggest that demand will continue to decline in key markets such as Germany, France, Italy, Britain, and Belgium. However, an upward trend is expected for Spain and Portugal as they prepare for a rebound in power consumption.
