Heat increases energy consumption in the country to record levels – 09/24/2023 – Market

The heat wave in the country is pushing energy consumption to record levels for the month of September, according to data from the ONS (National Electric System Operator), while retailers are seeing sales of air conditioning units soar.

In the second week of the month, for example, the SIN (national interconnected system) load reached an average of 73.5 thousand MW (megawatts), already a record for the month of September — the previous highest value had been recorded in the last week of September 2021: 71 thousand average MW.

This Friday (22), the day in which the city of São Paulo broke the year’s heat record, the load reached 81.2 thousand average MW. On Thursday (21), maximum demand reached a peak of 90.9 thousand MW at 4:37 pm, the highest since the 97.3 thousand MW recorded at 4 pm on February 14th.

The ONS forecast is that September will close with an average energy consumption of 75.2 thousand MW (megawatts), an increase of 5.8% compared to the same period of the previous year. If confirmed, it will be the highest value ever recorded for the month, according to the operator’s historical data.

“The load growth forecast for September is the highest in recent months, a reflection of the more intense heat and also of a more heated economy”, said, in a note released on Friday (22), the president of the ONS, Luiz Carlos Ciocchi.

The most significant acceleration in consumption should be registered in the North region (10.6%), which counts on the return of operations of a large industrial consumer. In the Southeast and Central-West regions, the forecast is for an increase of 6.1%; in the Northeast, 4.2%.

Hit by storms during the month, the South region has the lowest forecast increase in consumption compared to the same month of the previous year, 3.8%.

With full reservoirs, however, the national energy system has no difficulty meeting the increased demand, says Ciocchi. “We remain prepared to serve Brazilian society. The system is robust, safe and the scenario is favorable.”

This Friday (22), for example, the reservoir levels of hydroelectric plants in the Southeast and Center-West regions, the main water tank in the Brazilian electricity sector, were in the best conditions for the same day in 24 years.

Some of the largest representative reservoirs in these regions, such as those at the hydroelectric plants of Furnas, on the Rio Grande, and Emborcação, on the Paranaíba river, started the day with the best storage level in the last 19 years, reported the ONS.

In retail, the feeling is one of optimism regarding the air conditioning industry, which already plans to close the year with an increase of up to 10% in sales, after closing 2022 with a 26% drop in the production of split-type air conditioning. and 81%, among those with windows.

“Our main influencer is São Pedro and he is helping us a lot this year”, jokes Jorge do Nascimento, executive president of Eletros (National Association of Manufacturers of Electronic Products).

The high temperatures of recent days have led consumers to go shopping. Between September 10th and 20th, the Shopee platform recorded a 400% increase in the volume of searches for ventilators on its website and application, compared to the same period last year.

Sales of this product grew 200%. For air conditioning, the increase in searches was 250%. In the Magazine Luiza chain, air conditioning sales increased by 72%, mainly in the Northeast and Southeast regions. In ecommerce, the company recorded 49% growth in sales in September.

The low relative humidity also boosted the demand for humidifying devices, which increased by 80%.