Correlation between climate data and maximum electricity demand in Qatar

This paper presents the analysis of the impact of weather conditions on the maximum electricity demand in Qatar during the whole year 2012. It points out the maximum daily air temperature as the most influential climate (meteorological) parameter. Correlation between maximum daily temperature and maximum daily electricity demand are also indicated and analyzed. It is noticed that there is a linear correlation between these two variables for maximum temperature values above 22°C because of the air-conditioning type of the major load. During extremely hot summer periods, there is a tendency of increased electricity consumption because of air conditioning. A timely and accurate weather forecast can certainly help prevent the electrical power system overload and reduce the risk of possible power system damage.