Demand for electricity continues to rise

THE demand for electricity in Majorca grew last November by 6.1 percent to reach 277.87 gigawatt hours (GWh).
The power company, Gesa, reported yesterday that the accumulated annual demand stood at 3'763.7 GWh for the first 11 months of the year. Compared to the previous year, this figure represents a growth of 10.1 percent. However, it is noteworthy that the average growth in demand for the first 11 months of a year in the Balearics is in fact 10.6 percent.
Analysed according to the individual islands that go to make up the Balearics, Ibiza and Formentera are those that have registered the greatest demand for electricity between January and November this year (14.2%), while on Minorca, the rise in demand only tipped 10 percent. In any event, the most significant increases in demand surged to the fore last August when Majorca demanded an electricity supply increase of 24.8 percent, 21 percent on Minorca and 26.5 percent on Ibiza and Formentera. This was attributed to the exceptionally hot summer.
Regarding the number of clients, there are 9'449 newly registered subscribers on Majorca, a rise of 2.1 percent. This figure is inferior to the accumulated demand which grew by 10.1 percent. According to Gesa, the power supply contracted out to customers has also grown to 94'379 kilowatt hours (KWh), 3.4 percent more than the previous year.
The island continues to be plagued by power cuts and breakdowns, a situation which should be remedied by the plans to build electricity cable and gas pipe links with the Peninsula. This will put an end to Gesa's monopoly and should be in service by 2007.