• England v Denmark responsible for one of the biggest electricity pick-ups in modern times.
• The Euro 2020 semi-final match saw a surge of 1400MW at half-time and 1300MW at full-time.
• Pick-up for England-Germany round of 16 match was on a par with the 2011 Royal Wedding of William and Kate (1600MW)
• England v West Germany 1990 (2,800MW) required just 200MW less than the 1999 Solar Eclipse.
• OLBG reveals the top TV moments for electricity pick-up.

While football is on the brink of coming home, it is also producing record-breaking surges in electricity demand.

As the nation collectively sat down to watch England’s Euro 2020 semi-final match-up with Denmark on Wednesday night, demand for power skyrocketed by 1400MW at half-time and 1300MW at the end of 90 minutes, making it one of the biggest TV moments in terms of electricity pick-up in modern times.

Forecasts prior to the match suggested pick-up in the region of 1200MW, with millions of litres of water (via pumped storage) standing ready at Dinorwig, ready to be deployed in order for people to make their half-time cup of tea. And according to the grid’s control centre, ITV ad breaks only served to fuel movement at half-time.

Wednesday night’s pick-up was the same as the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia (also 1400MW), but on this occasion Gareth Southgate’s side went one step further. 

Research by OLBG shows the England-West Germany match-up at the 1990 World Cup still accounts for the biggest sports-related pick-up, falling just 200MW short of the 1999 Solar Eclipse.

The Three Lions’ quarter-final thrashing of Ukraine registered a 960MW pick-up at half-time, which was good enough for 22nd in our rankings – the equivalent of 190 million light bulbs, or 530,000 kettles. Demand waned as the result became clear, with 450MW required at full-time with fans drifting off.

Prior to that, a 55-year wait for a win over Germany at a major tournament ended with a 2-0 win for England in their round of 16 tie, with the national control room confirming a 1GW pick-up at half-time and 1.6GW at full-time, surpassing the grid operator’s best guess of 900MW beforehand. That is the equivalent of 320 million light bulbs, or 888,000 simultaneously boiling kettles.

Demand for electricity during England’s last 16 tie against Germany at Euro 2020

Geoff Hurst’s infamous hat-trick goal and the famous words “They think it’s all over…. It is now!” in England’s last major tournament win in 1966 – a 4-2 victory over West Germany at Wembley – accounted for a modest 600MW spike, while the regular Thursday night ‘Clap for Carers’ last year saw peak pick-up of 800MW.

Graph plotting demand during the infamous 1996 World Cup final

Britain’s electricity system operator – National Grid ESO – is tasked with matching the country’s supply and demand, second-by-second, making sure the lights – and televisions – stay on!

In fact record viewing figures for the four-hours-and-five-minutes broadcast on ITV were recorded, and those, along with the electricity pick-up are set to be surpassed for Sunday’s showpiece final when England take on Italy at Wembley.