Energy companies working ‘around the clock’ to meet demand during England and Scotland World Cup games
England and Scotland’s group stage matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup are expected to trigger a national electricity surge equivalent to the combined energy consumption of Leeds and Glasgow, according to England’s power system operator.
Analyzing potential demand, the National Energy System Operator (Neso) predicted that the games in England and Scotland could see a 600 megawatt increase in national electricity use each.
This significant increase is comparable to the total electricity required to power both major cities simultaneously.
Energy suppliers in the UK are now preparing for these expected peaks in demand.
This increase is expected due to a large number of people watching the tournament on their televisions and other devices.
Additionally, demand for part-time and full-time jobs is expected to rise sharply due to common household activities such as opening refrigerators or boiling the kettle.
Moreover, matches in Scotland are scheduled late at night (kick-off is at 2am UK time); This means that matches usually fall when electricity usage drops while people are sleeping.
Despite increased usage, more energy-saving televisions and appliances mean England may use around 20% less electricity to watch matches than in 1998, when Scotland last played in the World Cup.
This is despite the fact that the population increased by approximately 11 million in that period.
But total electricity use over the 39 days of the World Cup could increase by 18 gigawatts, or 60%, compared to the last tournament in 2022, according to the analysis.
This year’s tournament is larger than usual, with 48 teams playing, spread over five weeks and 104 games scheduled in stadiums in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
This year’s World Cup has “more games than ever before, which means we’re likely to see an increase in electricity demand over the course of the long tournament,” said Craig Dyke, Neso’s director of system operations.
He added: “While what happens on the pitch always yields surprises, watching this year’s World Cup will almost certainly be powered by the cleanest electricity in history.”
Mr Dyke said engineers would be “working around the clock to balance supply and demand” using energy forecasts and technologies that use excess electricity during off-peak hours, such as batteries and pumped hydroelectric storage.
