During the week of September 21, electricity demand declined in most major European power markets versus the previous week. Italy posted the largest fall at 3.7%, followed by Belgium at 3.5%. Germany recorded a 2.2% decrease after four consecutive weeks of increases.
France and Spain saw smaller weekly declines of 0.9% and 0.2%, respectively. Italy, France and Spain each recorded their third consecutive weekly drop in electricity demand. By contrast, Great Britain and Portugal reported increases over the same period.
Great Britain registered the largest rise at 5.3%, following the decline from the previous week. Portugal saw demand increase by 1.2%, marking its fourth consecutive week of growth. The changes in demand coincided with shifts in average temperatures across several markets.
Temperature moves alongside weekly demand changes
Average temperatures fell in most analysed markets during the week of September 21. Germany recorded the largest temperature drop at 3.1°C, followed by Italy with a decrease of 2.1°C and Belgium with a decline of 1.9°C. Temperatures also fell by 0.8°C in both France and Great Britain.
Portugal and Spain moved in the opposite direction, with average temperatures rising by 1.2°C and 0.8°C, respectively. These temperature changes occurred alongside the contrasting demand outcomes across the same set of markets.
AleaSoft forecast for the week of September 28
For the week of September 28, AleaSoft Energy Forecasting expects electricity demand to increase in Portugal, Great Britain, Belgium and France. Demand is forecast to decline in Italy, Spain and Germany for the same period.
AleaSoft reports that the differing demand trends reflect combined effects from temperature changes and market-specific consumption patterns as Europe moves further into autumn.