England and Scotland’s group games at the 2026 Fifa World Cup could kick off a national electricity spike equivalent to the total amount needed to power Leeds and Glasgow, according to Britain’s energy system operator.
Energy suppliers are preparing for peaks of electricity demand as swathes of people across the UK settle in at home or head to venues to watch the tournament.
Analysis by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) predicts that each of England and Scotland’s games in the group stages could see national electricity usage increase by 600 megawatts.
That is the equivalent of the total electricity demand for the cities of Leeds and Glasgow combined.
The spike is set to come from people using their TVs and devices to tune in to the matches, while demand is also forecast to rise at half-time and full-time from actions such as opening the fridge or putting the kettle on.
Furthermore, Scotland’s games are scheduled for late at night – with the first kicking off at 2am UK time – meaning they fall at times when electricity usage typically drops as people are sleeping.
Despite increased usage, more energy-efficient TVs and devices mean Britain could use around 20% less electricity to watch matches than in 1998 when Scotland last played in a World Cup.
This is despite the population growing by around 11 million in that time.
However, total electricity usage could soar by 18 gigawatts, or 60%, across the 39 days of the World Cup, compared with the last tournament in 2022, according to the analysis.
This year’s tournament is larger than usual with a scheduled 104 games played by 48 teams, spread across more than five weeks and in stadiums in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Craig Dyke, director of system operations for Neso, said this year’s World Cup “has more games than ever before, meaning we’re likely to see a surge in electricity demand across the longer tournament”.
He added: “While what happens on the pitch can always throw up surprises, watching this year’s World Cup will almost certainly be powered by the cleanest electricity in history.”
Mr Dyke said engineers will be “working around the clock to balance supply and demand” using energy forecasting and technologies such as batteries and pumped hydro storage, which uses excess electricity during off-peak hours.
