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Peak demand for electricity dropped by more than a tenth during last weekend’s hot weather in Guernsey, compared with previous July weekends.
Guernsey Electricity has revealed that maximum demand for electricity fell from 43 Megawatts (MW) on Sunday 3 July to 40.6MW on Sunday 10 July and then to 37.8MW on Sunday 17 July. That’s a 12 per cent drop between the first and third Sundays of the month, which saw temperatures climb by more than 7C.
‘Demand changes due to weather events are very noticeable. The drop in demand during the recent hot weather is equivalent to 2,600 kettles not being boiled. A demand of 1MW of power would be like boiling 500 kettles at the same time,’ said Jon Sexton, head of generation at Guernsey Electricity.
But he said that there was no major increase in electricity demand on the day of Heather Watson’s mixed doubles win at Wimbledon, which was televised along with the final of the European Football Championships and the British Grand Prix on Sunday 10 July.
Mr Sexton said: ‘The big sporting events don’t tend to create ‘TV lifts’ in demand as they used to maybe 20 years ago. It may be partly because we have a much more diverse range of entertainment with fewer people watching the same events at the same time. Many of us can also pause live TV so we’ve lost the commercial break in a way.
‘But a change in the weather, such as a heavy downpour, can create an increase in demand of maybe 4MW to 6MW as pumps across the island start to clear surface water and people react to the poorer weather,’ said Guernsey Electricity’s head of generation.
Guernsey Electricity can also help islanders keep cool in the hot weather with a wide range of fans, air coolers and air purifiers at its retail store on The Bridge.
