During the week of June 23, electricity demand rose across most major European markets compared to the previous week. Germany and Italy saw the largest increases, with demand growing by 8.2% and 8.1% respectively. France experienced the smallest increase at 2.6%, while Portugal’s demand grew by 3.9%.
The demand spikes in Portugal and Germany were influenced by recovery following the June 19 holiday, Corpus Christi, which is a national holiday in Portugal and observed in several regions of Germany. France and Italy continued their upward trends for the fourth and fifth consecutive weeks, respectively.
Conversely, Spain, Belgium, and Great Britain experienced declines in electricity demand, reversing their previous trends. The UK market had the largest drop at 2.0%, followed by Belgium at 1.4%. Spain’s 0.1% decrease was partly due to the regional holiday on June 24, St. John the Baptist Day, celebrated in several autonomous communities.
Average temperatures rose in most markets, increasing from 0.3°C in Spain to 2.2°C in Germany. Meanwhile, Great Britain saw a decrease in weekly average temperature by 0.7°C, which contributed to the lower electricity demand there.
Looking ahead to the week of June 30, AleaSoft Energy Forecasting projects rising electricity demand in Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Great Britain. In Spain, a heatwave starting on June 28 and expected to last through the week, along with post-holiday recovery, will drive higher demand. Conversely, demand in Portugal is forecasted to decline, AleaSoft reports.
