According to the National Observatory of Energy and Mines under the Ministry of Energy, in Tunisia, the peak electricity demand rose by 5.2%, reaching 5,089 MW by the end of August 2026, compared with 4 837 MW at the end of August 2025, thus setting a new national record.
As a reminder, the heatwave with temperatures near 50 degrees in the country led to an increase of nearly 30% in electricity demand due to the excessive use of air conditioners. Production could not keep up with demand and the energy deficit would be on the order of 400 MW during peak consumption periods.
To address this issue and preserve the balance of the national electricity network and avoid a general collapse, STEG carried out during the summer a move to rolling electricity cuts (load shedding) in several regions of the country.
By the end of August 2026, national electricity production had risen by 9% to stand at 15,284 GWh (including renewable self-production) versus 13,995 GWh by the end of August 2025. Production destined for the local market rose by 8%. Thus electricity purchases, mainly from Algeria, covered 10% of local market needs by the end of August 2026.
According to the same source, STEG still holds the lion’s share in electricity production with 92% of national production by the end of August 2026. Electricity production from renewable energies stood at 8.4%.
Moreover, around 528 MW of rooftop photovoltaic installations had been installed by the end of August 2026 in the residential sector and 140 MW at medium and high voltage in the industrial, tertiary and agricultural sectors.
The National Observatory of Energy and Mines indicated that electricity sales rose slightly by 1% between the end of August 2025 and the end of August 2026.
Sales to high-voltage customers recorded a 4% decline, those to medium-voltage customers rose by 2%. Note that for low-voltage sales destined mainly for the residential sector (nearly 75% on average), the statistics based on bi-monthly billing, of which nearly half is estimated, do not allow an exact idea of actual consumption.
