A new study found that electricity consumption plummeted globally during the first six weeks of the COVID 19 pandemic that started in April 2021.
But researchers were surprised when almost six months later, even with restrictions still in place, electricity consumption recovered. The study analyzed electricity consumption data from over fifty countries that accounted for 60 percent of the world’s population and 75 percent of global electricity use.
Lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, reduced commercial and industrial usage meant lowered electricity consumption. Six months later though, people were most probably getting tired of their habits formed during the initial part of the pandemic, and began returning to work and school, shopping, and socializing. Researchers think this is what may have caused consumption to go back up.
The study, for one, will help us prepare for future shocks to electricity systems. For example, with climate change causing increasingly unpredictable weather globally, we need to be able to understand and prepare for unexpected changes in how we deliver and use electricity.
Original article:
Speed and surprises: Decline and recovery of global electricity use in COVID’s first seven months
Original study: