Category: 📘 Glossary & Acronyms
Megawatt (MW)
A unit of power equal to one million watts, commonly used to describe electricity generation or demand at a point in time.
Megawatt is a power unit, not an energy unit.
Electricity markets, system operations, and planning studies frequently use MW to describe:
If a facility is drawing 5 MW at 2:00 PM, its instantaneous electricity demand at that moment is 5 megawatts.
Last Updated: 2026-03-25