Scotland fans create largest ever early-morning electricity surge
Football fans created a surge equivalent to 200,000 homes in the small hours of Sunday as the national team took on Haiti
Scotland has recorded the largest early‑morning power surge during the national men’s team’s triumphant World Cup return.
Engineers recorded an up to 15% rise in overnight electricity demand in the central belt and south of Scotland during the match on Sunday morning.
Scottish Power Energy Networks said the surge was equivalent to around 200,000 additional homes coming online at a time that is usually one of the quietest for the network.
The biggest spikes were seen in Easterhouse, Glasgow and the North of Edinburgh, around Leith, as supporters gathered in homes, pubs, and fan zones across the country.
READ MORE: Scotland World Cup record broken twice in same match - and could be again before tournament ends
“This was a huge moment for Scotland, and we’re proud that our teams kept the power flowing as fans across the country came together in the early hours to celebrate a historic win,” Stephen Kelly, transmission operations director at SP Energy Networks’ said.
The men’s national team secured a win in their first World Cup game in 28 years over the weekend.
Fans across the country stayed up into the early hours of the morning to watch Steve Clarke’s side defeat Haiti 1-0 in their first World Cup fixture since 1998.
SP Energy Networks said the country was still powered largely by fossil fuels and nuclear generation the last time Scotland’s men’s team made a World Cup appearance.
Today, the power company said the system is predominantly supplied by renewable energy from assets such as Whitelee Windfarm.
With electricity demand set to double by 2050, SP Energy Networks said there is a need for a network overhaul to increase grid capacity, strengthen energy security and reduce constraint costs while helping homes and businesses move to an all-electric future.
Mr Kelly added: “We have teams working around the clock to monitor and manage the network 365 days a year.
“Our £12 billion investment in the transmission network alone will help us maintain that reliability while enabling more affordable, homegrown energy, creating jobs and boosting the economy for generations to come.”
Meanwhile, fans basking in the 1-0 win over Haiti swapped football for baseball at the Boston Red Sox v Texas Rangers game on Sunday.
Thousands of Scots flocked to Fenway Park, the Red Sox’s home ground, to enjoy an evening of cold beers, baseball, and a change of pace from the World Cup.
The Boston Red Sox were beaten 6-4 by the Texas Rangers, though the loss did not dampen the spirits of the Scotland fans, who could be heard chanting “no Scotland, no Party”, throughout the evening, with a seemingly never-ending Mexican wave pulsing through the entire stadium at one point.
At the end of the game, the Scotland fans spilled out into the bar area, where John McGinn-related football chants could be heard for almost an hour after the game finished.
Amy Martin, 31, who is originally from Glasgow but has lived in Boston for 15 years, said: “I’ve been in Boston for years and this is the best baseball game I’ve ever been to in my life.”
“I’ve been to many baseball games here. Best baseball game I’ve ever been to here.”
Amy’s friend Stephen Brown added: “That was great. Great atmosphere, a great way to do things, it was fantastic.
Eric Brown, 63, said: “I loved it. I think we made the party. I think we definitely had a presence there.
“The John McGinn stuff at the end there was fantastic, wasn’t it? Just mental, but great fun.”
As the Tartan Army spread World Cup fever both sides of the Atlantic, a top folk band described the “incredible experience” to play for Scots fans at the fanzone in Boston.
Celtic rock band Skerryvore, which were formed in Tiree, played at the Boston City Hall Plaza fanzone on Saturday, ahead of the country’s first World Cup match in 28 years.
An estimated 40,000 Scotland fans have made the trip overseas – consuming thousands of pints of beer, wearing kilts, waving the Saltire and dressed in blue and white football kits.
Fiddle player Craig Espie said playing in the fanzone was “absolutely brilliant fun”.
He added: “We weren’t sure how many people would be there, and it was an amazing turnout for that time of the day.”
Speaking to the Press Association in Boston, Mr Espie said: “The best thing about it is just walking down the street and being part of it.
“And it was the same when we were in Munich.
“It’s just an incredible experience being with the Tartan Army when we travel – it’s like party central everywhere.”
Singer Alec Dalglish said it was “very warm” on stage and that there were a “few strugglers in the audience”.
The singer-songwriter joked: “The Scottish people are having to keep themselves very well-refreshed to get through this weather.”
Skerryvore, named after a lighthouse off the coast of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides, feature a mix of bagpipes, fiddles, accordions and whistles, alongside guitar and vocals.
Preparing for his trip to the World Cup is Scotland’s economy secretary Stephen Flynn, who said said he was “gutted” not to have been able to attend Scotland’s opening game against Haiti.
He added he had “massive Fomo” (fear of missing out) in the run-up to the match, telling how he was, “getting sent photos from lots of my friends who are out there”.
But he said he woke his six-year-old son at 2am on Sunday to watch the match with him, saying that “that was a good enough memory for me”.
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