In the first week of March, electricity demand exhibited a downward trajectory across several key European markets. The Belgian market faced the most significant decline, with a drop of 5.2%, while Germany followed closely with a 4.4% decrease. This marked the second consecutive week of falling demand for both markets. Additionally, France and Italy continued their downward trends for the third and fifth weeks, respectively, recording declines of 1.8% and 0.8%. Conversely, the Iberian Peninsula and Great Britain saw an uptick in demand, with Spain experiencing the highest growth at 6.2%, supported by increases of 2.1% in Portugal and 3.0% in Great Britain.
Temperature fluctuations played a crucial role in influencing electricity consumption patterns during this period. Most analyzed markets reported colder average temperatures compared to the previous week, with Great Britain and Germany experiencing the largest drops at 1.2°C and 1.0°C, respectively. Spain recorded the least decrease at 0.5°C, while Portugal saw a drop of 0.7°C. Notably, France, Belgium, and Italy experienced slight increases in average temperatures, ranging from 0.2°C in France to 0.8°C in Italy.
<pLooking ahead to the second week of March, demand projections from AleaSoft Energy Forecasting suggest a rebound in electricity consumption across most analyzed markets. However, exceptions remain for Italy and Germany, where demand is anticipated to decline further. This trend underscores the ongoing volatility within European electricity markets as they respond to both temperature variations and shifting consumption patterns.
