8.3% rise in demand for power last year

Demand for electricity in the Balearics last year rose by 8.3 per cent. The biggest surge on the regional grid was in Majorca where demand rose by 8.4 per cent while in Minorca the increase was 7.2 per cent and in Ibiza 8.2 per cent. Power company Gesa-Endesa said yesterday that the freezing temperatures in December during which demand rose by 19 per cent in comparison to 2000, was the principal reason for the sharp increase.