Waiting to find out what effects the national quarantine will have had on electricity consumption in the month of March (a boom at the domestic level is expected but a collapse at an industrial level), Terna has communicated the data for the month of February. The company that manages the national electricity grid informs us that electricity demand in Italy was 25,8 billion kWh, up by 0,7% compared to the same month of 2019. This result must be evaluated taking into account the fact that this year February, despite being a leap year, had the same number of working days (20) and recorded an average monthly temperature 1,2°C higher than in February 2019.
The seasonally adjusted figure corrected for calendar and temperature effects brings the variation to -2,6%. Demand for the first two months of 2020 is down by 1,8% compared to the corresponding period of 2019. In adjusted terms, the change is equal to -3,2%. At the territorial level, the trend change in February 2020 was positive in the North (+0,8%) and in the South (+0,9%) and stationary in the Centre. In cyclical terms, the seasonally adjusted value of electricity required in February 2020 adjusted for calendar and temperature effects recorded a negative change (-0,6%) compared to the previous month (January 2020). This result brings the trend profile on a decreasing trend.
In February 2020 the demand for electricity was 84,2% satisfied with national production and for the remainder (15,8%) from the balance of energy exchanged with foreign countries. In detail, net national production (21,9 billion kWh) decreased (-0,3%) compared to February 2019. Renewable sources of production increased: water (+0,7%), wind ( +2,7%), geothermal (+5%) and photovoltaic (+7,5%). On the other hand, the source of thermal production decreased (-1,9%).
