How we consume electricity

See also...

Currently, our society demands electricity in a variable manner throughout the day, but it is not aware of the challenges surrounding how it is generated, distributed and delivered to the consumption points. The start of the working day, the closure of businesses at lunch time or the public arriving home in the evenings are only some examples that explain why the demand is not uniform neither 24 hours a day, nor 7 days a week. There are, nevertheless, certain consumption patterns that help Red Eléctrica to establish its demand forecast:

The electricity system needs to be over-dimensioned in order to be able to supply the demand of specific peak consumption hours that occur throughout the year. To do this, it is necessary to have some 4000 MW, equivalent to ten 400 MW combined-cycle power stations or four 1000 MW nuclear power stations, in order to cover the 300 hours of peak consumption that occurs annually (a year has 8760 hours).

Peak hour consumption, are those hours in which the generation of electricity has a higher cost, as it is necessary for the more expensive power stations be in operation, which are also those that produce higher CO₂ emissions.
Night time hours are those of less consumption (off-peak hours) due to the reduction of the activities within all sectors, but starting at 6:00 am an increase occurs as a consequence of the start of the working day.
In winter, peak hours occur between 11:00 am and 12:00 am due to the greater activity of companies and services, as well as in residential properties (use of hobs and ovens), or also between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm as a consequence of the greater activity in commercial businesses and homes. However, in summer, the peak demand hours occur during the early afternoon coinciding with the hours of higher temperature.