The heatwave gripping Southeast Europe has caused a sharp spike in electricity consumption as residents increasingly rely on air conditioners to cope with soaring temperatures.

This has worrying implications for the carbon emissions from the region, since coal remains a significant part of the energy mix in most countries, despite efforts to encourage investment into renewables. 

Unprecedented high temperatures, reaching up to 43 degrees Celsius in parts of the region, have made air conditioning a necessity in areas where it was rarely used in the past. This surge in cooling demand is contributing to global warming, exacerbating the climate crisis that could expose up to three-quarters of humanity to life-threatening heat and humidity by 2100, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 

Southeast Europe is one of the regions particularly vulnerable to climate change, with one study projecting the region’s climate will resemble that of the US Deep South by 2050. 

Breaking records

In Serbia, the severe heatwave has led to record electricity consumption, which the Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS) attributes to increased air conditioner usage. 

Yet President Aleksandar Vucic’s answer was to look to additional coal power. "All consumption records are being broken... We believe that by opening Block 3 in the [coal-fired] Kostolac thermal power plant [TPP], we will be able to solve all the problems,” he said. 

As reported by bne IntelliNews’ correspondent in Belgrade, according to Elektrodistribucija Srbije, electricity use surged by 35% compared to last year, with a daily record of 84.07mn kWh reported on July 10, a 20.35% increase from the same day in 2022. The capital Belgrade saw an even sharper rise of 30.79%.

With a red weather alert issued by the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute (RHMZ), authorities are warning of extremely high temperatures and advising citizens, especially those with chronic illnesses, to stay indoors. 

The situation is similar in Croatia, where the Croatian Transmission System Operator (HOPS) reported a new electricity consumption record of 3,341 MWh at 8pm on July 16. 

"During an almost two-week-long heatwave, we have recorded another peak in electricity consumption, marking a new summer maximum hourly usage since HOPS began tracking these figures,” HOPS told local broadcaster HRT. Hourly electricity consumption is expected to increase further during the summer months due to the air conditioning as well as the arrival of hundreds of thousands of tourists. 

Among the other countries to experience soaring demand is Bulgaria, where Bulgarian National Radio reported that the country's all-time record for electricity consumption is expected to be broken on July 18. 

Urged to save power 

In Kosovo, the electricity supply company KESCO has called on citizens to conserve electricity. The extreme heat has led to a spike in demand, again primarily due to widespread air conditioner use. 

KESCO announced that Kosovo is importing energy at a cost of €1mn per day due to insufficient local production, impacted by the annual overhaul of the B1 unit at Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK). 

"KESCO remains committed to providing uninterrupted electricity supply to consumers. However, we urge everyone to conserve electricity as much as possible, as it is a vital resource, especially during extreme weather conditions," the company stated.

Kosovo, which relies heavily on two Yugoslav-era power plants close to Pristina, is the most coal-dependent of the Western Balkan countries. 

North Macedonia, like Kosovo, has a substantial share of coal in its energy mix. The country’s TPP, REK Bitola, recently brought two of its units back into operation, supplying much-needed electricity to the grid. Block 1 was reactivated on July 15, following the earlier reactivation of Block 3 over the weekend.

Block 1 had been out of service since Friday due to an outage of the 110-kV substation of the electricity transmission system operator MEPSO. This interruption in power supply also delayed the commissioning operations of Unit 3.

Despite the challenges posed by the outage, the experts at REK Bitola managed to prepare the facilities for operation in record time. As of July 16, the plant is producing electricity from two units, ensuring a stable supply to the Macedonian electricity system. Meanwhile, the overhaul of Block 2 continues as planned.

Worsening crisis

As residents across the Balkans turn on their air conditioners to alleviate the stifling heat, experts warn that the situation is likely to worsen. By 2050, nearly 1,000 cities are expected to experience average summer highs of 35 degrees Celsius, up from 350 cities today, says the UNEP. The urban population exposed to these high temperatures will increase eightfold, reaching 1.6bn by mid-century.

Cooling contributes significantly to global warming, with existing equipment using hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants, potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) that also consume large amounts of energy. Despite the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons required by the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, emissions from refrigeration and air conditioning are expected to double by 2030 and triple by 2050, rising from 7% of global GHG emissions today. As it stands, the more we cool, the more we heat the planet.