55 years of Hertz! WPD data shows South West fans' electricity habits during agonising Euros final

We have released data detailing the impact of England’s dramatic defeat to Italy, on our South West network.

Over 30 million viewers across the country tuned in to watch the game at home and millions more will have packed out pubs and beer gardens to see England play in their first major final in 55 years. As has been seen throughout the tournament when England play, overall electricity demand across the WPD network drops lower than would be expected for a typical corresponding day of the week. The data chart below shows a surge in demand following the half time whistle as households went to pop the kettle or grab something from the fridge following a nerve racking first half. Demand at half time peaked at around 1,323MW. This was the largest spike in electricity usage during the match. There was an increase in demand of over 78MW, enough to power the boiling of 700,000 kettles.

There was a similar pattern following the end of 90 minutes. Just before the 30 minutes of extra time, network demand peaked at just under 1,253MW as households made one last cup of tea or poured one more drink to calm the nerves. There was a smaller increase in demand as the game went to penalties. However, following the heat breaking penalty shootout which saw Southgate’s boys just fall short, network demand did increase and stayed at a level higher than would be expected on a Sunday night. This perhaps suggests that some England fans may have had a restless night or that some Italian fans on the WPD network partied into the small hours.

Commenting on the figures, WPD Data and Digitalisation Manager Jon Berry said: “Although the Three Lions came short, I am sure that we are all proud of what the boys achieved and their powerful performances throughout the tournament. The data shows a clear impact on the WPD network as households looked to calm their nerves throughout the 120 minutes and penalties. While it didn’t come home this year, let's hope that 2022 is our year!”

The full data can be found here.