Powerful stuff! Fans watching Scotland's return to the World Cup at home caused a record surge

Published: 00:08, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 00:12, 16 June 2026 Scots staying up to watch Steve Clarke’s men make their triumphant World Cup return helped generate the largest early morning power surge ever recorded. Engineers reported an up to 15 per cent rise in overnight electricity demand in the central belt and south of Scotland during the country’s opening match against Haiti in the early hours of Sunday. SP Energy Networks said it was equivalent to around 200,000 homes coming online at a time which is usually one of the quietest for the electricity network. As supporters gathered at watch parties, homes, and pubs, the need for power was much bigger than normal, with millions of Scots watching the game live from Boston. The biggest spikes were recorded in Easterhouse, Glasgow, and around Leith, Edinburgh. Stephen Kelly, SP Energy Networks’ transmission operations director, said: ‘This was a huge moment for Scotland, and we’re proud that our teams kept power flowing as fans across the country came together in the early hours to celebrate a historic win.’ The country is set to see an economic boost of more than £200million, with the country’s participation in the tournament likely to be the ‘largest economic impact in Scotland from a sports event that Scotland hasn’t hosted’. While some 40,000 fans travelled to Massachusetts for the opening game, back home many more tuned in to watch the national side win the game 1-0. Electricity demand was up 15 per cent during Scotland's World Cup opener against Haiti on Sunday morning Across the whole tournament leading economist and government adviser Richard Marsh, of 4-consulting, estimated that ‘2.6million Scots are likely to watch World Cup 2026 matches’. He said: ‘Pubs and clubs are likely to attract 350,000-450,000 people, with major matches expected to fill venues to capacity. ‘Fan zones would add another 60,000-100,000 people per match day, with Glasgow and Edinburgh hosting the largest crowds, and other cities contributing meaningful numbers. ‘Home-based social gatherings would form the biggest share, drawing 700,000-800,000 people.’ The energy used to power those watching Scotland’s first World Cup fixture since 1998 is very different to the one which was used over the weekend. Almost three decades ago, the gird was more reliant on fossil fuels, while it is now dominated by renewable sources of electricity. Scotland face two more Group C games against Morocco and Brazil, both set to be late at night given the time difference between the UK and the United States. Mr Kelly said: ‘We have teams working around the clock to monitor and manage the network.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.