National Grid is an international energy delivery business whose principal activities are in the regulated electricity and gas industries. In the UK, we own and operate the high voltage electricity transmission in England and Wales, and own and operate Britain's natural gas transportation system.

National Grid has to forecast electricity demand every minute of every day of every week, second-guessing what millions of people will be doing at any moment in time. 

Will you be watching any of the 2006 FIFA World Cup matches? Do you know which ones yet?  Will you watch them at the pub, or sit down in front of the TV at home? And what will you do afterwards? Put on a kettle or turn on a light, maybe?  Will you put off doing that for a few minutes while you cheer at the result (or just sit stunned if it did not go so well)?  

Well, we have been thinking about that.

At the sound of the half-time whistle and the end of every big match, we gear up for a massive surge in electricity demand as millions of people turn on their kettles for a cuppa, switch on the lights or reach for a cold drink from the fridge. 

For a short but dramatic period this almost instant increase – known as a ‘TV pick-up’ – can be as high as 10% of existing demand. The popularity of a comparatively small number of channels, combined with the country’s legendary tea-drinking habits and a marked preference for the electric kettle rather than stove-top varieties make TV pick-ups a uniquely British phenomenon.

Keeping pace with these sudden peaks in demand is down to a highly-skilled team at the Electricity National Control Centre. They work around the clock to ensure the supply generated by Britain’s power stations meets the country’s electricity demands on a minute-by-minute basis.

TV pick-ups are a regular feature of the Centre’s operations as popular ‘soaps’, such as Coronation Street and East Enders, typically generate TV pick-ups of 600-800 megawatts.

However, the biggest ever TV pick-up was reserved for a sporting event – the 1990 World Cup. It occurred on 4th July after England’s semi-final against West Germany. Following an edge-of-the-seat penalty shoot-out, demand soared by 2,800 megawatts - equivalent to more than a million kettles being switched on, providing enough hot water for 3 million cups of tea.

In the run up to the 2006 World Cup, our demand forecasters have been collating a wealth of information to give them as accurate a picture of demand as possible. In addition to looking at previous World Cups, the team also has to consider a range of other factors. For example, what is the time of the broadcast? Will it get dark during the match, causing people to switch on the lights at the end of the game? Does the end of the match coincide with the end of a film on another channel?

Changing viewing habits over the years may also have an impact on demand during this tournament, with the increasing popularity of watching major sporting events in pubs and at large screen venues, together with an ever-rising number of television channels on offer.

For the first time during a World Cup National Grid will be taking into account Scotland’s electricity demand. Since 1st April 2005, the company has been responsible for balancing the power supply and requirements for those living north of the border, in addition to England and Wales.