Starting today, a new energy weather forecast will be posted online every week, giving viewers information and tips on how to reduce their energy consumption. According to the initiator, if many people follow the advice of the energy weather report, a few percent can be saved in gas consumption.

For example, if Tuesday is cloudy and there is little wind, people may be advised not to do their laundry or charge their car that day. Due to the weather, little renewable energy is available. When the sun shines and the wind blows on Wednesday, there is significantly more energy available for things like washing clothes and charging the car.

“If you use electricity in a smart moment, you don’t have to use less gas-fired power plants to produce enough electricity. That can make a big difference,” says Olof van der Gaag from the Dutch Sustainable Energy Association (NVDE). ).

The first energy weather forecast went online this morning:

The energy weather forecast is presented by weatherwoman Helga van Leur and takes about a minute and a half each week. She also gives general tips for saving energy, such as “Turn off the heating an hour before going to bed” and “Only turn on the lights in the rooms you use”.

Van der Gaag hopes hundreds of thousands of people will follow the energy weather forecast every week. At least one episode will be filmed each week until the end of January. Then it is checked whether they continue with it. The NVDE, the electricity network operator Tennet, the gas network operator Gasunie and KNMI work together for the energy weather forecast.

It is inspired by a French example. This has existed since 2020, but has been viewed by more and more people in recent months due to the high energy prices.