New York daily electricity demands fell about 13 percent due to COVID-19 prevention efforts
As a result of business shutdowns and changes brought about by state initiatives to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, New York state has seen its weekday electricity demand tumble nearly 13 percent over the last two months.
This number was reached by the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Hourly Electric Grid Monitor by tracking the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and comparing each weekday’s electricity demand through May 1. By taking the average demand of all weekdays and the daily average temperature in previous years, it recorded an average temperature-comparable historical demand until the end of February.
At that point, demand began to drop. It rapidly picked up speed as COVID-19 mitigation efforts went into effect, with the 13 percent average drop recorded by late March. It has remained there since. According to NYISO, reduced electric demand from commercial customers accounts for the overall reduced electricity consumption. Commercial sector end users account for 52 percent of the state’s total electricity sales — the second-largest in the nation.
New York City has seen a slightly larger drop than the rest of the state, and it accounts for about one-third of total electricity usage under NYISO. In that region, daily weekday electricity demand fell by an average of 16 percent from late March through April.
