Demand forecast

A demand forecast is a forward-looking estimate of electricity demand over a defined period. In home energy systems it may be a consumption forecast inside a HEMS (home energy management system), battery controller, EV charging app or monitoring platform, using recent use patterns, weather, tariff periods and scheduled loads to decide when flexible equipment should charge, hold or run. At grid level, NESO (National Energy System Operator) and Elexon publish demand forecast data so industry users can compare expected demand with outturn. A demand forecast is not measured consumption, a bill, peak demand, maximum demand, a solar forecast, a tariff price or a demand response instruction.