The demand for electricity across the country stood at 31.482 megawatts (MW) at 10:00 a.m. this Wednesday, compared with the 33.724 MW recorded at the same time the day before, according to data from Red Eléctrica de España (REE). This difference represents a 6.64% drop in almost the first half of the general strike workday.
In addition, actual consumption was 7.5% below the 34.053 MW that had been forecast for that time slot, although it remained slightly above the 31.007 MW scheduled.
The level of electricity consumption is usually taken as a benchmark for assessing the scope of a general strike, since when activity is halted in factories, shops, and generally in a large part of the productive fabric, electricity demand falls appreciably.
In the previous general strike held in Spain, on November 14, 2012, total electricity demand over the course of the whole day was reduced by around 11% compared with a normal day.
That said, the comparison with 14 years ago is not fully comparable, since since then electricity consumption in Spain has been reduced by factors such as improved energy efficiency, the progress of self-consumption, and other structural changes in the system.