Belgium’s Electricity Consumption Spikes in Heatwave Due to Air Conditioners

The air conditioning is working overtime these days. And that is reflected in the electricity consumption in our country. Where we consumed around 8,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity per day on an average weekday between 22 May and 6 June in Belgium, that figure was remarkably higher on Monday: at over 9,150 MW. Or more than six percent more. This is evident from figures from high-voltage grid operator Elia.

“Of course we cannot find out exactly why that is,” says spokeswoman Marie-Laure Vanwanseele. “But it is logical to assume that the use of air conditioners in this heat has something to do with it.” With an average temperature of 23.3 degrees (over 24 hours), it was a lot warmer on Monday than in the last week of May and the first week of June.

Data from Elia also shows that the excess consumption takes place over the entire duration of the day. At the same time, it is pointed out that the good weather ensures a large solar production. “During the day, the sun provides more than half of the production mix,” says Vanwanseele. There is more than enough electricity. For example, yesterday afternoon there was still room for export (9 percent of the total production mix around 3 p.m., ed.) to our neighboring countries and to pump up water in the Coo hydroelectric power station (4 percent of the total mix, ed.). “Fluctuations of this order of magnitude are quite easily absorbed on the grid. The market determines which technology meets the demand.”