Firms and households during the pandemic: what do we learn from their electricity consumption? Articles uri icon

publication date

  • May 2023

start page

  • 267

end page

  • 288

issue

  • 3

volume

  • 44

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0195-6574

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1944-9089

abstract

  • We analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on electricity consumption patterns.
    We highlight the importance of decomposing total electricity consumption
    into consumption by firms and by households to better understand the economic
    and social impacts of the crisis. While electricity demand by firms has fallen substantially,
    the demand by households has gone up. In particular, our focus is on
    Spain where, during the total lockdown, these effects reached –29% and +10%
    respectively, controlling for temperature and seasonality. While the electricity demand
    reductions during the second wave were milder, the demand by firms remained
    5% below its normal levels. We also document a change in people"s daily
    routines in response to the stringency of the lockdown measures, as reflected in
    their hourly electricity consumption patterns.

subjects

  • Economics

keywords

  • electricity demand; economic activity; covid; lockdowns