New record for electricity consumption set Friday

A new record for the consumption of electrical energy in Panama was set on Friday, July 21, reported Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica (Etesa).

At 2:07 pm it reached 2,222 megawatts, explained Carlos Mosquera Castillo, general manager of Etesa, while explaining that this situation should not generate any concern for consumers or decisions on electricity rationing by the sector authorities.

The last record consumption figures were on April 4,  with 2,079 megawatts, and on May 4,  with 2,171 megawatts.

Mosquera Castillo assured that the increase in demand does not mean increases in the cost of electrical energy and stressed that the installed capacity in the country’s energy matrix “is practically double what is currently needed in terms of demand.”

However, he did reiterate the importance of making responsible use of electricity consumption, especially given the high temperatures already forecast and the thermal sensations experienced in recent days when it felt like 48 degrees Celsius.