How much power the country is using

National demand met by the transmission system, published every five minutes. It rises through the morning, peaks in the early evening, and falls away overnight.

Demand now

29,317MW

29,317.0 higher than yesterday

At 08:45 · −1,768 MW in the last hour

24-hour peak

34,085MW

Reached at 19:20

24-hour low

23,585MW

Reached at 00:25

Swing across the day

10,500MW

Difference between peak and low

Demand over the last 24 hours

Megawatts drawn from the transmission system, sampled every five minutes.

View as table

Time	Demand (MW)
08:45	30,070
08:50	29,978
08:55	29,935
09:00	30,229
09:05	30,189
09:10	30,030
09:15	29,932
09:20	29,784
09:25	29,825
09:30	29,820
09:35	29,536
09:40	29,290
09:45	29,105
09:50	28,908
09:55	28,813
10:00	28,917
10:05	28,760
10:10	28,402
10:15	28,521
10:20	28,642
10:25	28,720
10:30	28,486
10:35	28,329
10:40	28,159
10:45	28,110
10:50	27,964
10:55	27,956
11:00	28,072
11:05	28,041
11:10	27,865
11:15	27,817
11:20	27,843
11:25	27,645
11:30	27,571
11:35	27,090
11:40	26,787
11:45	26,715
11:50	26,865
11:55	26,873
12:00	26,836
12:05	26,791
12:10	27,123
12:15	26,927
12:20	26,737
12:25	26,450
12:30	26,025
12:35	25,919
12:40	25,792
12:45	25,634
12:50	25,563
12:55	25,603
13:00	26,003
13:05	25,916
13:10	25,926
13:15	25,943
13:20	25,871
13:25	25,784
13:30	25,690
13:35	25,616
13:40	25,437
13:45	25,435
13:50	25,525
13:55	25,688
14:00	25,524
14:05	25,576
14:10	25,652
14:15	25,650
14:20	25,642
14:25	25,598
14:30	25,528
14:35	25,751
14:40	25,879
14:45	25,922
14:50	25,958
14:55	25,929
15:00	26,263
15:05	26,579
15:10	26,713
15:15	26,725
15:20	26,861
15:25	27,071
15:30	27,291
15:35	27,333
15:40	27,708
15:45	28,012
15:50	28,411
15:55	28,441
16:00	28,089
16:05	28,159
16:10	28,368
16:15	28,560
16:20	28,675
16:25	28,792
16:30	29,121
16:35	29,250
16:40	29,331
16:45	29,527
16:50	29,524
16:55	29,619
17:00	30,034
17:05	30,347
17:10	30,557
17:15	30,775
17:20	31,101
17:25	31,365
17:30	31,668
17:35	32,069
17:40	32,218
17:45	32,448
17:50	32,527
17:55	32,544
18:00	32,651
18:05	33,013
18:10	33,061
18:15	32,993
18:20	32,947
18:25	32,982
18:30	33,029
18:35	33,066
18:40	33,057
18:45	33,113
18:50	33,197
18:55	33,265
19:00	33,401
19:05	33,750
19:10	34,072
19:15	34,025
19:20	34,085
19:25	34,064
19:30	34,045
19:35	33,875
19:40	33,957
19:45	33,913
19:50	33,901
19:55	33,547
20:00	33,310
20:05	32,997
20:10	32,824
20:15	32,696
20:20	32,528
20:25	32,401
20:30	32,305
20:35	32,219
20:40	32,065
20:45	31,897
20:50	31,674
20:55	31,388
21:00	30,758
21:05	30,562
21:10	30,197
21:15	29,876
21:20	29,780
21:25	29,676
21:30	29,589
21:35	29,479
21:40	29,291
21:45	29,194
21:50	29,024
21:55	28,770
22:00	27,973
22:05	27,594
22:10	27,368
22:15	27,171
22:20	27,027
22:25	26,856
22:30	26,775
22:35	26,594
22:40	26,439
22:45	26,263
22:50	26,107
22:55	25,933
23:00	25,846
23:05	25,248
23:10	24,951
23:15	24,729
23:20	24,561
23:25	24,438
23:30	24,419
23:35	24,314
23:40	24,293
23:45	24,288
23:50	24,273
23:55	24,220
00:00	24,026
00:05	23,935
00:10	23,903
00:15	23,819
00:20	23,690
00:25	23,585
00:30	23,679
00:35	23,739
00:40	23,788
00:45	24,168
00:50	24,267
00:55	24,102
01:00	23,816
01:05	23,857
01:10	23,953
01:15	24,011
01:20	24,037
01:25	24,008
01:30	23,991
01:35	23,970
01:40	23,964
01:45	23,973
01:50	23,995
01:55	24,121
02:00	24,397
02:05	24,646
02:10	24,753
02:15	24,828
02:20	24,855
02:25	24,735
02:30	24,617
02:35	24,761
02:40	24,834
02:45	24,724
02:50	24,795
02:55	24,835
03:00	24,676
03:05	24,258
03:10	24,127
03:15	24,208
03:20	24,231
03:25	24,292
03:30	24,506
03:35	24,676
03:40	24,747
03:45	24,761
03:50	24,715
03:55	24,297
04:00	23,979
04:05	24,218
04:10	24,189
04:15	24,526
04:20	24,535
04:25	24,482
04:30	24,655
04:35	24,809
04:40	25,003
04:45	25,163
04:50	25,226
04:55	25,223
05:00	25,505
05:05	25,857
05:10	25,936
05:15	26,035
05:20	26,104
05:25	26,174
05:30	26,245
05:35	25,980
05:40	25,913
05:45	26,062
05:50	26,315
05:55	26,629
06:00	26,833
06:05	26,732
06:10	26,772
06:15	26,987
06:20	27,168
06:25	27,288
06:30	27,575
06:35	27,690
06:40	27,822
06:45	27,952
06:50	28,182
06:55	28,243
07:00	28,487
07:05	28,706
07:10	29,111
07:15	29,820
07:20	30,050
07:25	30,157
07:30	30,502
07:35	30,819
07:40	30,950
07:45	31,085
07:50	31,235
07:55	30,843
08:00	30,772
08:05	31,144
08:10	31,125
08:15	30,870
08:20	30,869
08:25	30,597
08:30	30,198
08:35	29,700
08:40	29,400
08:45	29,317

What this means

This is the electricity Great Britain draws from the transmission system, measured in megawatts. One megawatt is roughly enough for a few hundred homes at once, so the numbers here run into the tens of thousands.

The shape repeats daily: a trough in the small hours, a climb as the country wakes, and a peak in the early evening when people get home, cook, and turn the lights on. Weather moves the whole curve - today is 2.6°C warmer than the seasonal average, which pushes demand down.

It counts demand met by large power stations and interconnectors only. Electricity generated and used behind the meter - rooftop solar, most notably - reduces this figure rather than adding to it, which is why sunny afternoons can look deceptively quiet.

Updated at 08:52. This page keeps itself current.