National Grid ESO has revealed that during half time of the Euro 2024 Spain vs England final, there was a rapid demand pick up of 1300MW.
The majority of this extra demand was met with renewable energy: 700MW of hydropower and 300MW from batteries, along with increasing generation from conventional units that were already running.
National energy demand began to fall ahead of the 8pm kick off, and it continued to decrease before half time in the international football match. It dropped even lower between the second half beginning and full time, reaching 23,520MW at the 90-minute mark.
According to ESO the demand rose again gradually, reaching 24,030MW about half an hour later – a much smaller increase of 510MW. During the 2020 Euro final, when England played Italy, there was a sharp rise in demand at full time as there was a rush in the gap before extra time kicked off.
Managing consumer demand
National Grid ESO uses a variety of tools to balance consumer demand and provide grid flexibility. It recently announced changes to its Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) having predicted that this winter, the excess electricity it will be able to call on in a cold spell will be higher than last year.
The requirement for the DFS as a contingency will be reduced and it will no longer be a winter-specific tool. ESO chief operation officer Kayte O’Neill said: “We look forward to working closely with industry over the coming months to deliver a service that makes flexibility part of everyday life and that can unlock the benefits for participating consumers and society at large.”
