WALC Demand Forecast Accuracy: Error, Bias and Worst Miss, 28 September to 28 October 2026

The day-ahead demand forecast for WALC was off by 16.4% on average (mean absolute percentage error) over 719 hours from 28 September to 28 October 2026, and 18% of hours landed within 5% of the reading. Its bias was +8.5%: it ran high on average, an over forecast. The largest miss was 494 MW (70.0%) too high at 27 Oct 2026, 18:00 MST (UTC-07:00). Dates and times are local (America/Phoenix).

Key Facts

  • The day-ahead demand forecast for WALC was off by 16.4% on average (mean absolute percentage error) over 719 hours from 28 September to 28 October 2026, and 18% of hours landed within 5% of the reading. Its bias was +8.5%: it ran high on average, an over forecast. The largest miss was 494 MW (70.0%) too high at 27 Oct 2026, 18:00 MST (UTC-07:00).
  • Across 53 US grids ranked by average error over their own latest 30 day windows, WALC came 47 (1 is the smallest error).
  • On average the forecast differed from reported demand by 140 MW, against average demand of 892 MW.
  • The forecast was above reported demand in 63% of compared hours.

Forecast Error at a Glance

719 hours from 28 September to 28 October 2026
Average error16.4%
Bias+8.5%
Hours within 5%18%
Worst miss494 MW

Average error is the mean absolute percentage gap between the forecast and reported demand. Bias is the signed mean (+62 MW per hour on average): the forecast ran high on average, an over forecast. The worst miss was 494 MW (70.0%) too high at 27 Oct 2026, 18:00 MST (UTC-07:00): forecast 1,200 MW, reported 706 MW.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (US Government work, public domain) Data as of 2026-10-28. Accuracy is computed by World Power Monitor from the operator's hourly forecast and reported demand.

Forecast and Reported Demand, Last 7 Days

Local time, to 28 Oct 2026, 04:00 MST (UTC-07:00)
WALC day-ahead demand forecast and reported demand by hour Hourly reported demand and the day-ahead forecast for WALC over the last 7 days of the window, to 28 Oct 2026, 04:00 MST (UTC-07:00). Gaps are hours with a missing, zero or implausible report. 0 375 750 1,125 1,500 21 Oct, 05:0022 Oct, 05:0023 Oct, 05:0024 Oct, 05:0025 Oct, 05:0026 Oct, 05:0027 Oct, 05:00
Hourly reported demand and the day-ahead forecast for WALC over the last 7 days of the window, to 28 Oct 2026, 04:00 MST (UTC-07:00). Gaps are hours with a missing, zero or implausible report.
Data to 2026-10-28
Show the data table (168 rows)
Local hourReported demandDay-ahead forecast
21 Oct, 05:00823 MW640 MW
21 Oct, 06:00848 MW858 MW
21 Oct, 07:00811 MW738 MW
21 Oct, 08:00844 MW903 MW
21 Oct, 09:00820 MW887 MW
21 Oct, 10:00913 MW849 MW
21 Oct, 11:00978 MW909 MW
21 Oct, 12:001,099 MW1,027 MW
21 Oct, 13:001,126 MW951 MW
21 Oct, 14:001,176 MW1,027 MW
21 Oct, 15:001,144 MW995 MW
21 Oct, 16:001,009 MW832 MW
21 Oct, 17:001,232 MW1,080 MW
21 Oct, 18:001,206 MW1,223 MW
21 Oct, 19:001,059 MW1,264 MW
21 Oct, 20:001,073 MW1,137 MW
21 Oct, 21:001,175 MW1,087 MW
21 Oct, 22:001,009 MW901 MW
21 Oct, 23:00833 MW759 MW
22 Oct, 00:00816 MW754 MW
22 Oct, 01:00783 MW699 MW
22 Oct, 02:00769 MW690 MW
22 Oct, 03:00775 MW682 MW
22 Oct, 04:00766 MW708 MW
22 Oct, 05:00774 MW961 MW
22 Oct, 06:00833 MW901 MW
22 Oct, 07:00808 MW806 MW
22 Oct, 08:001,019 MW786 MW
22 Oct, 09:001,059 MW838 MW
22 Oct, 10:001,019 MW815 MW
22 Oct, 11:001,015 MW880 MW
22 Oct, 12:001,065 MW938 MW
22 Oct, 13:001,064 MW896 MW
22 Oct, 14:001,054 MW837 MW
22 Oct, 15:001,069 MW793 MW
22 Oct, 16:00988 MW798 MW
22 Oct, 17:001,141 MW1,042 MW
22 Oct, 18:001,125 MW1,118 MW
22 Oct, 19:001,160 MW1,147 MW
22 Oct, 20:00925 MW1,012 MW
22 Oct, 21:00853 MW969 MW
22 Oct, 22:00904 MW902 MW
22 Oct, 23:00696 MW865 MW
23 Oct, 00:00706 MW769 MW
23 Oct, 01:00771 MW759 MW
23 Oct, 02:00715 MW776 MW
23 Oct, 03:00687 MW739 MW
23 Oct, 04:00682 MW738 MW
23 Oct, 05:00745 MW791 MW
23 Oct, 06:00678 MW736 MW
23 Oct, 07:00666 MW661 MW
23 Oct, 08:00723 MW780 MW
23 Oct, 09:00754 MW810 MW
23 Oct, 10:00756 MW844 MW
23 Oct, 11:00803 MW873 MW
23 Oct, 12:00848 MW860 MW
23 Oct, 13:00868 MW827 MW
23 Oct, 14:00866 MW799 MW
23 Oct, 15:00817 MW803 MW
23 Oct, 16:00789 MW804 MW
23 Oct, 17:001,013 MW1,145 MW
23 Oct, 18:001,072 MW1,124 MW
23 Oct, 19:001,046 MW1,147 MW
23 Oct, 20:001,070 MW1,097 MW
23 Oct, 21:00849 MW1,050 MW
23 Oct, 22:00823 MW1,015 MW
23 Oct, 23:00711 MW975 MW
24 Oct, 00:00891 MW728 MW
24 Oct, 01:00832 MW731 MW
24 Oct, 02:00704 MW740 MW
24 Oct, 03:00700 MW710 MW
24 Oct, 04:00713 MW782 MW
24 Oct, 05:00725 MW796 MW
24 Oct, 06:00726 MW712 MW
24 Oct, 07:00724 MW572 MW
24 Oct, 08:00933 MW582 MW
24 Oct, 09:00873 MW582 MW
24 Oct, 10:00894 MW628 MW
24 Oct, 11:00864 MW610 MW
24 Oct, 12:00891 MW596 MW
24 Oct, 13:00908 MW624 MW
24 Oct, 14:00962 MW655 MW
24 Oct, 15:00975 MW708 MW
24 Oct, 16:00944 MW663 MW
24 Oct, 17:001,073 MW956 MW
24 Oct, 18:001,073 MW987 MW
24 Oct, 19:001,078 MW919 MW
24 Oct, 20:00959 MW784 MW
24 Oct, 21:00938 MW789 MW
24 Oct, 22:00940 MW863 MW
24 Oct, 23:00767 MW832 MW
25 Oct, 00:00646 MW769 MW
25 Oct, 01:00625 MW741 MW
25 Oct, 02:00631 MW732 MW
25 Oct, 03:00683 MW746 MW
25 Oct, 04:00672 MW821 MW
25 Oct, 05:00660 MW825 MW
25 Oct, 06:00668 MW777 MW
25 Oct, 07:00671 MW666 MW
25 Oct, 08:00881 MW849 MW
25 Oct, 09:00805 MW835 MW
25 Oct, 10:00812 MW846 MW
25 Oct, 11:00830 MW896 MW
25 Oct, 12:00875 MW918 MW
25 Oct, 13:00886 MW943 MW
25 Oct, 14:00878 MW999 MW
25 Oct, 15:00891 MW990 MW
25 Oct, 16:00778 MW940 MW
25 Oct, 17:00964 MW1,067 MW
25 Oct, 18:00928 MW1,146 MW
25 Oct, 19:00970 MW1,109 MW
25 Oct, 20:00850 MW897 MW
25 Oct, 21:00804 MW860 MW
25 Oct, 22:00717 MW895 MW
25 Oct, 23:00590 MW862 MW
26 Oct, 00:00535 MW779 MW
26 Oct, 01:00520 MW737 MW
26 Oct, 02:00497 MW749 MW
26 Oct, 03:00507 MW782 MW
26 Oct, 04:00556 MW819 MW
26 Oct, 05:00650 MW843 MW
26 Oct, 06:00768 MW828 MW
26 Oct, 07:00750 MW808 MW
26 Oct, 08:00811 MW900 MW
26 Oct, 09:00794 MW902 MW
26 Oct, 10:00793 MW990 MW
26 Oct, 11:00787 MW1,042 MW
26 Oct, 12:00801 MW1,062 MW
26 Oct, 13:00862 MW1,108 MW
26 Oct, 14:00931 MW1,122 MW
26 Oct, 15:001,465 MW1,127 MW
26 Oct, 16:00818 MW980 MW
26 Oct, 17:00913 MW1,067 MW
26 Oct, 18:00966 MW1,155 MW
26 Oct, 19:00977 MW1,070 MW
26 Oct, 20:00827 MW998 MW
26 Oct, 21:00804 MW961 MW
26 Oct, 22:00748 MW915 MW
26 Oct, 23:00625 MW775 MW
27 Oct, 00:00524 MW754 MW
27 Oct, 01:00551 MW745 MW
27 Oct, 02:00497 MW744 MW
27 Oct, 03:00477 MW784 MW
27 Oct, 04:00499 MW743 MW
27 Oct, 05:00530 MW753 MW
27 Oct, 06:00707 MW736 MW
27 Oct, 07:00786 MW710 MW
27 Oct, 08:00694 MW895 MW
27 Oct, 09:00681 MW836 MW
27 Oct, 10:00687 MW938 MW
27 Oct, 11:00745 MW1,047 MW
27 Oct, 12:00724 MW1,053 MW
27 Oct, 13:00718 MW1,064 MW
27 Oct, 14:00758 MW1,002 MW
27 Oct, 15:00827 MW1,005 MW
27 Oct, 16:00701 MW940 MW
27 Oct, 17:00750 MW1,112 MW
27 Oct, 18:00706 MW1,200 MW
27 Oct, 19:00762 MW1,153 MW
27 Oct, 20:00821 MW985 MW
27 Oct, 21:00782 MW965 MW
27 Oct, 22:00612 MW876 MW
27 Oct, 23:00656 MW783 MW
28 Oct, 00:00571 MW730 MW
28 Oct, 01:00565 MW736 MW
28 Oct, 02:00560 MW743 MW
28 Oct, 03:00561 MW777 MW
28 Oct, 04:00554 MW754 MW

Assumptions

  • Only hours with both a forecast and a positive demand reading count (719 of 720 hours in the window). Missing and zero values, and readings under 30% or over 3 times the grid's own median for the window, are treated as reporting faults and left out.
  • Error is (forecast minus reported demand) divided by reported demand; average error uses absolute values so high and low misses do not cancel. Bias keeps the sign and does cancel.
  • Reported demand is preliminary and may be revised. A 30 day window is a short sample and one heat wave or holiday can move these figures.
  • US figures are for the EIA balancing authority or region named on this page. US and European grids are ranked separately.
Cite this page
APA 7

World Power Monitor. (2026). WALC Demand Forecast Accuracy: Error, Bias and Worst Miss. https://worldpowermonitor.com/forecast-accuracy/walc/

Plain text

World Power Monitor. WALC Demand Forecast Accuracy: Error, Bias and Worst Miss. Data as of 2026-10-28. Data from U.S. Energy Information Administration. https://worldpowermonitor.com/forecast-accuracy/walc/

BibTeX
@misc{wpm_forecast_accuracy_walc_2026,
  title = {{WALC Demand Forecast Accuracy: Error, Bias and Worst Miss}},
  author = {{World Power Monitor}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Data as of 2026-10-28. Data from U.S. Energy Information Administration.},
  url = {https://worldpowermonitor.com/forecast-accuracy/walc/}
}

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