Worldwide electricity demand, hardly robust during the past several years, appears to have taken a substantial hit during the coronavirus pandemic. In a recent analysis, the Electric Power Research institute took a look at the impacts of the spread of the virus on electric demand in Italy, Spain, New York, and California.
EPRI found, “These diverse electric power systems recorded reductions in peak demand and energy of 3-to-15 percent in the first two to three week days of each region’s shelt-in-place order when compared with the previous week and the same week in 2019.”
The good news, said EPRI’s Daniel Brooks: “The observed demand reductions are significant, but preliminary data indicate the electric power systems are resilient and can account for and respond to the reductions while reliably meeting customers’ needs.”
In Italy, EPRI found that the nation’s electric system saw weekday peak demand and energy use reductions of 10-14 percent during the first two days of the country’s strong shelter policy. During the days of five through eight, “Italy’s system “recorded reductions of 18-to-21 percent.”
In Spain, the first week of the shelter policy saw reductions of “up to 15 percent,” and additional reductions of 7-to-10 percent in the second week. Italy and Spain lead the world in the number of covid-19 fatalities.
In the U.S., EPRI found, “During the first days of city-and-statewide shelter-in-place order in New York and California, these states recorded a 3-to7 percent decrease in peak demand and energy use, compared with the previous week and previous years, with morning peak apparently particularly impacted.
By March 29, Italy’s fatality figure was 10,023 and Spain’s was 5,982. Others in the thousands were China (3,300), Iran (2,517), France, (2,314), and the U.S. (2,229).
The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration on March 27 reported prices and price trends for a spread of energy products, including electricity and natural gas. EIA found across-the-board declines in the spot market price for delivery that day, based on data from SNL Energy. The declines ranged from 2.3 percent in Houston to 11.6 percent in the Southwest, for an overall average of 9.6 percent for the 10 price spots reported.
EIA reported natural gas “prompt-energy futures” for 3/26/20 settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange were down 1.3 percent to $1.64/million Btu. Coal futures prices weren’t available.
On March 27, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held a covid-19 conference call with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the National Association of State Energy Officials, and the National Governors Association. Anton Porter, FERC executive director assured the meeting that the commission “remains fully functional” via telework, with 1,400 employees working remotely. Director of the Office of Electric Reliability Andrew Dodge said that FERC doesn’t “anticipate the covid-19 pandemic to affect the reliability of the bulk electric system.”
Joe McClelland, head of the Office of Energy Infrastructure, said FERC is working with the industry CEO-led Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, which on March 24 released a resource guide, Assessing and Mitigating the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
— Kennedy Maize