It is currently the end to the annual period of the hottest time in Maldives. March and April are known to be periods of high heat, with some parts of Maldives experiencing a general feels-like temperature of 35 degrees Celsius. 4th April saw Male' experience a feels-like temperature of 37.3 degrees Celsius.
With this heat, this is the period of time annually where there is a surge of electricity usage.
While STELCO is publicizing electricity usage metrics, it shows the connection between high temperature and electricity usage. On the days where high heat was recorded, electricity usage had gone up as well.
19th April and 20th April were especially hot days, with 19th April showing an average of 107,642 kilowatts having been used, with the highest that day being 120,705 kilowatts and the lowest being 85,966 kilowatts.
During peak hours on 20th April, 122,127 kilowatts of electricity were used, with the lowest being 87,520 kilowatts.
According to information from the last 24 hours, the feels-like temperature was at 33.5 degrees Celsius at midnight last night, with electricity demand at Male' and Hulhumale' being at 104,863 kilowatts at the time. As the temperature held steady since then, the electricity demand fell to 93,474 kilowatts at 2:00am. The demand fell to 88,887 kilowatts an hour after that, with it holding within that range until 6:00am. Even though the temperature rose slightly, electricity demand was at 86,750 kilowatts.
Electricity usage started to climb as it got hotter around 9:00am. At the time, the feels-like temperature was at 34.1 degrees Celsius, with electricity demand at 95,854 kilowatts. The feels-like temperature rose to 34.7 degrees Celsius at 10:00am, with STELCO's data showing electricity demand rising to 105,577 kilowatts. According to the data, yesterday's heat was at its peak at 4:00pm. The electricity demand at the time was 116,316 kilowatts.
Electricity demand hit its peak yesterday at 9:00pm. Even though the temperature had fallen slightly compared to the evening, as it is the time when most people would be at home, electricity usage was recorded to be high, at 121,843 kilowatts.
Data from the past week shows electricity demand being the highest from 2:00pm until 9:00pm. During those times, STELCO's data shows that there is an average 122,225 kilowatts of electricity that was needed in both Male' and Hulhumale'.
The highest recorded electricity demand over the last month was 125,943 kilowatts.
STELCO's data also shows that peak temperature times coinciding with most people being at home is the reason for increased electricity usage. That is why electricity usage is higher at 9:00pm rather than in the afternoon when the sun is shining the brightest.
