Electricity consumption peaked for the year at 96.6 GW on Wednesday, 28 February 2018 at 7:00 pm, as a late cold spell moved into France. This was the third highest peak ever recorded in France.
Demand reached its lowest point for the year on Sunday 12 August, when it fell to 30.4 GW.
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Electric heating causes demand to reach higher levels in winter than in summer.
Similarly, people are more active during the week than on weekends, so demand is higher on weekdays.
Over the course of a day, the use of lighting and cooking for example, particularly in the evening, when people tend to return home, explains the spike observed at around 7:00 pm.
Power demand in France is very sensitive to temperatures, particularly in the winter months, due to the widespread use of electric heating.
RTE uses a model that distinguishes between temperature-sensitive and non-temperature-sensitive demand to calculate weather-adjusted consumption. It is the temperature-sensitive share that determines the shape of the overall demand curve.
The temperature sensitivity of power demand varies over the course of a given day. It is estimated at about 2,400 MW per degree Celsius in winter on average.
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Household appliances are increasingly efficient, and this efficiency is helping households save on their energy bills.
It was estimated in 2016 that households consumed an average 2,350 kWh a year for domestic electricity uses. This consumption would be halved if households were equipped exclusively with efficient appliances (A+++).
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Detailed consumption forecasts and trends linked to end-uses can be found in the 2017 Generation Adequacy Report. An updated report was published in 2018.
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