Capital consumers used 23,611 GWh of electricity last year – enough to make 850 billion cups of tea
Londoners consumed enough electricity over the past year to make more than 850 billion cups of tea, according to new figures released by UK Power Networks.
The company, which delivers power to 8.5 million homes and businesses across London, the South East and the East, reported that 23,611 gigawatt hours (GWh) were distributed across the capital in the 2024/25 period – the equivalent of 858.6 billion cups of tea.
Despite this, total usage dipped slightly from 23,656 GWh in 2023/24, even as the number of customers rose by 0.19% to 2.42 million.
London continues to have the most reliable electricity network in the UK, maintaining a 99.99% reliability rate with the fewest and shortest power cuts nationwide.
Kevin Scarpenter, Head of Network Operations for London at UK Power Networks, said: “London’s power network continues to set the standard for reliability and performance, serving over 2.4 million homes and businesses. With a 99.99% reliability rate, the best in the country, we’re proud to keep the lights on for London, every day and night, no matter what challenges come our way.”
Across the wider network, customer numbers and power distribution both grew. The East of England saw a 0.79% increase in power delivered, while the South East rose by 1.24%.
UK Power Networks invested £983 million last year in reinforcing and upgrading infrastructure to maintain reliability and support growing demand.
To put London’s electricity use in perspective, it was enough to fully charge 314.8 million electric cars, power 1.86 trillion iPhone charges or run 15.7 billion refrigerator days.
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