The heat wave that hits the center of Brazil this week caused electricity consumption to hit a new record in the country. At 2:20 pm on Tuesday (Nov 14), the National Interconnected System (SIN) load reached approximately 101.5 MW, a level 16.8% higher than that recorded in the first days of November (86.8 MW).
This is the second day in a row that Brazil has broken a record in electricity consumption. On Monday (Nov 13), at 2:20 pm, the SIN registered a level of 100.9 MW, being the first time in the system’s history that the load surpassed the 100,000 MW mark. The previous record was 97,659 MW, measured on September 26 this year.
The increase in energy demand is mainly due to the greater use of air conditioning and fans. This is because the hot air mass that affects most Brazilian states is causing temperatures to reach 40ºC, in addition to dry weather. In Rio de Janeiro, for example, the thermal sensation reached 58.5ºC.
According to the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet), the heat wave is expected to continue until the weekend, with temperatures above average in most of Central Brazil. So far, thermometers have indicated eight heat waves – January, March, August, September, October and November –, making 2023 the hottest year in history.
