How current does the capital consume when it is heat? The connection between the tropical nights and the power feathers that affected tens of thousands of Bucharest residents
Bucharest people consumed about 12% of the total energy consumed throughout the country last Sunday, when it was a red code of heat. It was a “significant growth for a weekend day”, the representatives of the Romanian electric networks said for Hotnews, who stated that more power feathers were reported. However, the cause of them was not only the high consumption was their cause.
On a day with ordinary weather conditions, the average instant consumption value of electricity in the Capital is about 800 MW, for HotNews.ro, representatives of the Romanian Electric Networks, the energy distributor from the PPC Romania group.
Consumption is higher during the week, than on the weekend, because the industry consumption decreases.
During periods of heat, the level sometimes exceeds the level of 1,000 MW in working days of the week.
On the weekend of July 26-27, when Bucharest was under the red code of heat, “the level of consumption increased significantly for a weekend”.
It has reached “in many time intervals at about 850 MW, above the average level reached in the days without extreme temperatures,” writes in the response of the energy company.
For comparison, at national level, on the same days, the maximum consumption was about 7,500 – 7,600 MW, the transelectrica data shows.
Huge consumption of electricity last week, against the background of the heat / what energy sources saved us
This summer, the maximum consumption of electricity in the capital was 1,140 MW, registered on July 7, a day on Monday, at 18:00.
Why were there's feathers
On the same weekend, most power feathers were reported. On Saturday, about 20,000 people were left without electricity – 1.3% of customers in Bucharest. On Sunday, the number increased to 40,000, 2.6% of customers.
The cause was not only the high consumption, but the high temperatures during the night. Specifically, during this period, when meteorologists announced tropical nights, “the distribution network did not cool down.”
“The very high and persistent temperatures for several days have put additional pressure on the operation of the distribution networks and equipment, because they did not allow the cooling of the installations to normal parameters even during the night, when there were also high temperatures,” the company said.
Among the cases listed are: “affecting cables by third parties, during excavation works”, which led to “increasing pregnancy on other cables, overloading them and increasing the risk of failure”.
How much electricity does it consume other European capitals
Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, can be compared with Bucharest in terms of energy consumption, although it has a smaller population.
According to the data published by the National Institute of Statistics, the number of inhabitants in Bucharest is about 1.7 million people. In Sofia there are 1.3 million inhabitants.
There, the inhabitants of the city use 850 MW of electricity on a normal day and up to 1,100 MW at the top of consumption.
In Budapest, on the other, the average hourly consumption is about 1,100 MW, and at the peak of consumption you can reach 1,400 – 1,500 MW. Budapest, which officially has a population of approx. 1.8 million people can represent up to 25% of the country's total electrical consumption, depending on the time of day.
Vienna, a city with just over 2 million inhabitants, has a much higher consumption, about 4,500 MW, but two thirds of this value go to urban transport and centralized heating, which are electrified.
Prague, where over 1.3 million people live, has a lower consumption, only 650 MW on average in normal days, and during heat can increase to 900 – 1,000 MW.
