Spanish Electricity Demand: dataset and characteristics

Spanish electricity demand usually has two annual peaks: one in summer (typically July) and one in winter (often February), both reaching similar levels around 30 GW.

The lowest-demand period is typically April and May, when demand can fall to around 25 GW. Combined with longer solar hours, this often aligns with very low market prices.

A second seasonal low often appears in October, usually slightly higher than spring at around 26 GW.

Overall, Spain’s seasonal swing is typically smaller than in systems such as France, where electric demand has higher sensitivity to heating requirement from winter low.

The Spanish electricity demand profile typically shows a morning peak around 09:00 and a stronger evening peak around 20:00.

Daily valleys are commonly observed near 03:00 and around 15:00, reflecting work schedules and lifestyle patterns such as later lunch and dinner times compared with many other European countries.

In summer, the midday valley can shrink or disappear because air-conditioning increases load during the central hours of the day.

Holidays and calendar effects (Christmas, Easter, national holidays) can materially reduce Spanish electricity demand and create clear dips in load time series.

Self-consumption (behind-the-meter solar PV) has grown rapidly since 2022, increasingly lowering measured demand during daytime hours and reshaping the national hourly demand curve.

Peninsular Spain dominates total load, while the Balearic and Canary Islands (plus Ceuta and Melilla) require separate balancing and are often reported independently in Spanish electricity demand data.