Electricity consumption decreased in February, but at a slower pace

Sweden continues to reduce electricity consumption, but at a slower pace. This is evident when the electricity consumption figures sent by all network owners in Sweden are aggregated. After correcting for calendar and temperature differences, the drop was 6.5 percent in February compared to last year.

Since September 2022, the monthly decline has been at least 5 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, adjusted for differences in calendar and temperature. The decline peaked in December at 8.2 percent, then fell to 7.1 in January and is now 6.5 in February.

Despite the downward trend, the 6.5 percent drop in consumption is significant. According to Erik Eck, Director of Strategic Operations, Svenska kraftnät, this corresponds to an average output of around 1,200 megawatts, which matches the output of one of Sweden’s largest nuclear power reactors.

– As in the previous winter months, the decrease was greatest in southern Sweden (Electricity District 4), where the decrease is 10 percent, says Eric Ek.

In the electric region 1

On the other hand, electricity consumption in northern Sweden (Electricity District 1) increased by 1.1% or with an impact of 17 MW on average during February. According to Eric Eck, this is due, among other things, to new industrial enterprises.

According to Erik Ek, from an energy balance perspective, it was important during winter that the consumption reduction be greatest during peak load hours, that is, when the load or consumption is highest during daylight hours. It’s between 8-11am and 16-19pm.

We also see the same pattern during the month of February that the image shows.