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Britain sees royal wedding electricity surge

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-04-30 03:26

LONDON - The surge in electricity demand following the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton easily surpassed the impact of the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

The National Grid said it recorded a 2,400 megawatt jump in demand -- equivalent to a million tea kettles being switched on -- once the couple returned to Buckingham Palace on Friday. That compared to the 1,800 megawatt surge after the Charles-Diana wedding in 1981.

The National Grid says the effect measures when people forsake television for other tasks, including making tea, thus giving an idea of the size of the audience.

It was the fourth-largest surge recorded in Britain. The biggest was 2,800 megawatts after the penalty shoot-out for England's World Cup semifinal against West Germany in 1990.