BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 19
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Europe’s 2022 electricity demand is set to exceed the pre-pandemic levels, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Demand in Europe fell significantly because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures governments took to contain the virus. During the first restrictions in the second quarter of 2020, demand on individual days in some countries dropped by as much as 20 percent and even more in some countries – for example, in France, Italy and Spain – compared with weather-corrected demand during the same period in 2019. After measures were relaxed, European demand recovered but remained below pre-pandemic levels throughout the year, resulting in an overall annual decrease of 4 percent. Demand from the six largest electricity consumers dropped by 4.6 percent (Germany) to 5.8 percent (Spain).
“The only exception was Turkey, with 0.6 percent growth. Demand rebounded in many countries in the second half of 2020, but increasing Covid-19 cases and subsequent new restrictions impeded the recovery. As vaccination campaigns progress, however, and all parts of the economy reopen completely during the second half of 2021, we expect European demand to grow by more than 3 percent. Demand will be supported by the strong economic outlook, with economic growth of 4.3 percent after a 5.8 percent decline in 2020, and colder temperatures early in the year.
We expect demand in 2022 to exceed 2019 demand primarily in countries that also grew before the pandemic. Turkey is likely to contribute the majority of the absolute growth, for two main reasons. First, despite rapid growth in recent years, Turkey’s average annual electricity consumption per capita of 3.4 MWh is, still significantly below the European average of 5.6 MWh in 2018. Second, the economic outlook in Turkey, where GDP in 2022 is expected to be 11.7 percent above the 2019 level, significantly exceeds the European average of 2.2 percent,” said the IEA.
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