Firms and Households During the Pandemic: What Do We Learn from their Electricity Consumption?

34 Pages Posted: 29 Dec 2020

See all articles by Olympia Bover

Olympia Bover

Banco de España - Research Department; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Natalia Fabra

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid - Departmento de Economia

Sandra García-Uribe

Banco de España

Aitor Lacuesta

Banco de España

Roberto Ramos

Banco de España

Date Written: December 29, 2020

Abstract

We analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on electricity consumption patterns in Spain. 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, 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.

Keywords: electricity demand, economic activity, COVID, lockdowns

JEL Classification: L94, Q43, Q54

Suggested Citation

Bover, Olympia and Fabra, Natalia and García-Uribe, Sandra and Lacuesta, Aitor and Ramos, Roberto, Firms and Households During the Pandemic: What Do We Learn from their Electricity Consumption? (December 29, 2020). Banco de Espana Occasional Paper No. 2031, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3756781 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3756781

Olympia Bover (Contact Author)

Banco de España - Research Department ( email )

Alcala 50
28014 Madrid
Spain
+34 91 338 5979 (Phone)
+34 91 338 5678 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Natalia Fabra

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid - Departmento de Economia ( email )

E-28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
+34-91 6249594 (Phone)
+34-91 6249329 (Fax)

Sandra García-Uribe

Banco de España ( email )

Alcala 50
Madrid 28014
Spain

Aitor Lacuesta

Banco de España ( email )

Madrid 28014
Spain

Roberto Ramos

Banco de España ( email )

Alcala 50
Madrid 28014
Spain

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
123
Abstract Views
620
Rank
412,219
PlumX Metrics