Peak Demand
Peak demand is the highest level of electricity demand recorded over a period, whether a single day or the whole time a grid has been measured. Grids, and the generation and transmission capacity behind them, are largely sized to meet peak demand safely, with a margin of spare capacity, even though that peak may occur for only a handful of hours a year.
Worked Example
AECI's highest recorded hourly demand was 4,842 MW, at 2026-09-02T22:00 (records kept since 2026-06-16). See the full figures.