One consequence of the coronavirus pandemic is that the consumption of electricity fell a little everywhere, and it is the first time in several years. Estimates from the IEA (the International Energy Agency) say that between now and the end of the year the drop in energy demand could exceed even what had been recorded after the 2008 economic crisis, the worst in recent years. All this while on a global level there remain large disparities in access to a primary good such as electricity: according to a recent one studio in fact, there are 3.5 billion inhabitants of the planet who have a supply of electricity that is unstable or in any case insufficient for basic needs. But let’s go in order.
According to what the IEA reported, in 2020 the restrictions imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus infections caused a reduction of electricity consumption, particularly in Europe, the United States and India. On average, during periods of “full” lockdown, the decline in demand was 20 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
As is also explained in the relationship on consumption by the European Commission, which in the first four months of 2020 documented an average decline of 3.2 percent, according to the IEA the consumption of electricity in homes has increased, but has not compensated for the significant reduction in consumption at the industrial level, due to to the temporary closure of many factories throughout Europe.
In the spring months in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, consumption fell by at least 15 per cent due both to the effect of the lockdowns and to the milder temperatures, which limited the use of heating; in the same period, due to the lockdown in China, electricity consumption fell by an average of 6.5 per cent. Data from the first half of the year led the IEA to estimate that globally in 2020 the demand for electricity will drop between 5 and 10 percent: it would be the most consistent reduction since 2008-2009, when consumption had dropped on average 5 percent in European countries and 3.8 percent globally as a result of recession.
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Who consumes the most
In recent decades, global electricity consumption had increased rapidly: according to oneanalysis of Statista, in 2019 China consumed as much energy as was consumed worldwide in 1980. In general, heavily populated countries are also those that consume the most electricity, while the countries where the most electricity is consumed per capita tend to be those where extensive use is made of electrical appliances for heating and cooling.
Besides China, the countries that have consumed the most electricity in recent years are the United States, India, Japan and Russia. On average, most of the consumption is recorded in the industrial sector; then follow the residential use, that of commercial activities and public services, and transport. In China, over half of electricity consumption is related to industry: an amount practically equal to that which in the United States is consumed overall for industry, residential electricity, commercial activities and transport combined.
IEA data referring to global electricity consumption in 2018
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The excluded
According to what was reconstructed in a recent relationship compiled by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the UN and the IEA, the global statistics on consumption also highlight large disparities in the use of electricity. A recent studio Published on The Electricity Journal he calculated that in total about 3.5 billion people have an unstable electrical connection.
Among other things, electricity is crucial for transport and the hospital sector: in Sub-Saharan Africa, however, only 28 per cent of healthcare facilities have an efficient electricity service. Ensuring “accessible, reliable and sustainable” energy is one of the so-called UN sustainable development goals (“Sustainable development goals”, SDG 7), which has put in place a series of investigations and plans to ensure access to electricity in the countries that have the most shortages.
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In countries like India, Bangladesh and Kenya they have been made big progress in the supply of electricity. However, compared to a decade ago when 1.2 billion people were estimated to lack electricity, today 789 million people still live without any access to electricity. This means that beyond the 10 percent of the global population still rely on wood, coal or other for daily needs, such as heating or lighting their homes.
Some studies also have calculated that California residents alone consume as much electricity to play video games as the approximately 100 million people of Ethiopia combined, and that California’s pools and hot tubs consume more energy than is consumed in all of Jamaica . Other researchers also have valued that operating in Bitcoin alone consumes more electricity than the nearly 200 million inhabitants of Nigeria.
The effect of lockdowns on the environment
Among other things, the IEA noted that in all regions that have implemented lockdowns – including China, Europe and the United States – there has been a reduction in polluting emissions due to both the decline in electricity production from fossil fuels, and the push given to the production of energy from renewable sources. The effects of the global lockdown on pollution, however, have been temporary and this is a significant fact because electricity production and consumption are also among the main causes of climate change, and according to the relationship UN, WHO and IEA, contribute 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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In this sense, the use of clean energy it is closely linked both to important development goals and to the health of citizens and the planet. For this reason, among the objectives of the governing and control bodies to offer more and more people stable and reliable electricity, as foreseen by both the Development program of the UN and the directives of the European Commission on energy efficiency target, there is also to increase the production of energy from renewable sources.
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