scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Electricity System of Great Britain: A Study on Energy Demand, Generation, Pricing and Grid Stability

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 635
Author(s):  
Desen Kirli ◽  
Maximilian Parzen ◽  
Aristides Kiprakis

The outbreak of SARS-COV-2 disease 2019 (COVID-19) abruptly changed the patterns in electricity consumption, challenging the system operations of forecasting and balancing supply and demand. This is mainly due to the mitigation measures that include lockdown and work from home (WFH), which decreased the aggregated demand and remarkably altered its profile. Here, we characterise these changes with various quantitative markers and compare it with pre-lockdown business-as-usual data using Great Britain (GB) as a case study. The ripple effects on the generation portfolio, system frequency, forecasting accuracy and imbalance pricing are also analysed. An energy data extraction and pre-processing pipeline that can be used in a variety of similar studies is also presented. Analysis of the GB demand data during the March 2020 lockdown indicates that a shift to WFH will result in a net benefit for flexible stakeholders, such as consumers on variable tariffs. Furthermore, the analysis illustrates a need for faster and more frequent balancing actions, as a result of the increased share of renewable energy in the generation mix. This new equilibrium of energy demand and supply will require a redesign of the existing balancing mechanisms as well as the longer-term power system planning strategies.

Author(s):  
Desen Kirli ◽  
Maximilian Parzen ◽  
Aristides Kiprakis

The outbreak of SARS-COV-2 disease 2019 (COVID-19) abruptly changed the patterns in electricity consumption, challenging the system operations of forecasting and balancing supply and demand. This is due to the mitigation measures that include lockdown and Work from Home (WFH), which decreased the aggregated demand and remarkably altered its profile. Here, we characterise these changes with various quantitative markers and compare it with pre-COVID-19 business-as-usual data using Great Britain (GB) as a case study. The ripple effects on the generation portfolio, system frequency, forecasting accuracy and imbalance pricing are also analysed. An energy data extraction and pre-processing pipeline that can be used in a variety of similar studies is also presented. Analysis of the GB demand data during the March 2020 lockdown indicates that a shift to WFH will result to a net benefit for flexible stakeholders, such as consumer on variable tariffs. Furthermore, the analysis illustrates a need for faster and more frequent balancing actions, as a result of the increased share of renewable energy in the generation mix. This new equilibrium of energy demand and supply will require a redesign of the existing balancing mechanisms as well as the longer-term power system planning strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 293 ◽  
pp. 02061
Author(s):  
Liu Siyang ◽  
Wei Zirui ◽  
Qian Wen ◽  
Chen Yu ◽  
Liu Qian ◽  
...  

Energy demand is closely related to energy price, GDP and population. By using the shortest path algorithm and K-means clustering, we set up the spatial nodes, and carried out the model simulation to predict the energy demand of Yunnan Province. The results show that the total energy consumption of Yunnan Province will still show an upward trend from 2020 to 2015; hydropower silicon integration projects in Yunnan Province, the power supply and demand situation in Yunnan Province will change from oversupply to basic balance between supply and demand, and the role of thermal power in dry season will be played to make the decline of coal consumption tend to be smooth; from 2020 to 2025, Yunnan’s electricity consumption will increase by about 8.02% year-on-year. However, according to the commissioning of some projects, the total electricity consumption in the province will be about 192.9 billion kwh in 2020, with a yearon-year increase of 12.3%.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 20-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loraine Mzini ◽  
Tshombe Lukamba-Muhiya

Globally, electricity has become a modern tool to supply energy to households. This study investigates the supply and demand of household electricity and sustainability of distribution centres at Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM). South Africa follows a vigorous programme of electrification, spearheaded by Eskom. Eskom is a South African state-owned power company which strives to meet the country’s increasing demand for energy. Resi-dential energy demand is growing as population levels rise and the number of households in ELM increases. Recently (2008–2010) in South Africa there have been unprecedented levels of load shedding nationally and there is a shortage of centres to purchase electricity. Furthermore, households do not receive uninterrupted electricity on a daily basis, largely because of stolen electrical cables and illegal connections. Low-income residents of Evaton, ELM, were interviewed. Empirical surveys were conducted and a theoretical exposition drawn up to meet the objectives of the study. It was found that electricity supply and demand in ELM is adequate but there is a shortage of selling points in Evaton and there are barriers towards the effectiveness of electricity consumption. In addition, public awareness programmes must continue to educate the communities to avoid stealing the electrical cables. Illegal connection must be reported to the local councillors for them to make sure that this activity is stopped in Evaton.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Wang ◽  
Morten Ryberg ◽  
Yi Yang ◽  
Kuishuang Feng ◽  
Sami Kara ◽  
...  

AbstractSteel production is a difficult-to-mitigate sector that challenges climate mitigation commitments. Efforts for future decarbonization can benefit from understanding its progress to date. Here we report on greenhouse gas emissions from global steel production over the past century (1900-2015) by combining material flow analysis and life cycle assessment. We find that ~45 Gt steel was produced in this period leading to emissions of ~147 Gt CO2-eq. Significant improvement in process efficiency (~67%) was achieved, but was offset by a 44-fold increase in annual steel production, resulting in a 17-fold net increase in annual emissions. Despite some regional technical improvements, the industry’s decarbonization progress at the global scale has largely stagnated since 1995 mainly due to expanded production in emerging countries with high carbon intensity. Our analysis of future scenarios indicates that the expected demand expansion in these countries may jeopardize steel industry’s prospects for following 1.5 °C emission reduction pathways. To achieve the Paris climate goals, there is an urgent need for rapid implementation of joint supply- and demand-side mitigation measures around the world in consideration of regional conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7251
Author(s):  
Mushk Bughio ◽  
Muhammad Shoaib Khan ◽  
Waqas Ahmed Mahar ◽  
Thorsten Schuetze

Electric appliances for cooling and lighting are responsible for most of the increase in electricity consumption in Karachi, Pakistan. This study aims to investigate the impact of passive energy efficiency measures (PEEMs) on the potential reduction of indoor temperature and cooling energy demand of an architectural campus building (ACB) in Karachi, Pakistan. PEEMs focus on the building envelope’s design and construction, which is a key factor of influence on a building’s cooling energy demand. The existing architectural campus building was modeled using the building information modeling (BIM) software Autodesk Revit. Data related to the electricity consumption for cooling, building masses, occupancy conditions, utility bills, energy use intensity, as well as space types, were collected and analyzed to develop a virtual ACB model. The utility bill data were used to calibrate the DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus base case models of the existing ACB. The cooling energy demand was compared with different alternative building envelope compositions applied as PEEMs in the renovation of the existing exemplary ACB. Finally, cooling energy demand reduction potentials and the related potential electricity demand savings were determined. The quantification of the cooling energy demand facilitates the definition of the building’s electricity consumption benchmarks for cooling with specific technologies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khoa Nguyen ◽  
René Schumann

Abstract The development of efficient electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure requires modelling of consumer demand at an appropriate level of detail. Since only limited information about real customers is available, most simulations employ a stochastic approach by combining known or estimated business features (e.g. arrival and departure time, requested amount of energy) with random variations. However, these models in many cases do not include factors that deal with the social characteristics of EV users, while others do not emphasise on the economic elements. In this work, we introduced a more detailed demand model employing a modal choice simulation framework based on Triandis’ Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour, which can be calibrated by empirical data and is capable of combining a diverse number of determinants in human decision-making. By applying this model on Switzerland mobility domain, an analysis on three of the most popular EV incentives from both supply and demand sides is provided, which aims for a better understanding of electro-mobility systems by relating its causes and effects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1257
Author(s):  
Luis Godoy-Vaca ◽  
E. Catalina Vallejo-Coral ◽  
Javier Martínez-Gómez ◽  
Marco Orozco ◽  
Geovanna Villacreses

This work aims to estimate the expected hours of Predicted Medium Vote (PMV) thermal comfort in Ecuadorian social housing houses applying energy simulations with Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for very hot-humid climates. First, a novel methodology for characterizing three different types of social housing is presented based on a space-time analysis of the electricity consumption in a residential complex. Next, the increase in energy demand under climate influences is analyzed. Moreover, with the goal of enlarging the time of thermal comfort inside the houses, the most suitable PCM for them is determined. This paper includes both simulations and comparisons of thermal behavior by means of the PMV methodology of four types of PCMs selected. From the performed energy simulations, the results show that changing the deck and using RT25-RT30 in walls, it is possible to increase the duration of thermal comfort in at least one of the three analyzed houses. The applied PCM showed 46% of comfortable hours and a reduction of 937 h in which the thermal sensation varies from “very hot” to “hot”. Additionally, the usage time of air conditioning decreases, assuring the thermal comfort for the inhabitants during a higher number of hours per day.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 825-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Bauer ◽  
Elizabeth Mar

The appeal of individual mobility provided today by automobiles and light trucks with internal combustion engines, makes transportation the sector most resilient to a fuel substitution away from its dependence on oil. While the number of vehicles per capita and the distance traveled per vehicle are approaching saturation levels in the industrialized countries (IEA 2002), increases in population and income per capita, economic reforms and industry globalization can result in an off-trend accelerated growth of vehicles in the economies in transition (FSU and EE) and in the developing world (China, India and Latin America, mainly). The corresponding world road use energy consumption could reach a 200 percent increase from present levels by the year 2020, instead of an already worrisome “business as usual” projection of 75 percent (BAUER 2003, 2004). This paper analyses the mitigation effect on world oil demand and on its environmental impact that a policy of leapfrogging towards energy efficient internal combustion technologies and/or alternative vehicles – hybrid or fully electric – could have.


2018 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 01038
Author(s):  
Ridho Hantoro ◽  
Cahyun Budiono ◽  
Ronald Kipkoech Ketter ◽  
Nyoman Ade Satwika

Over 70 000 000 people in Indonesia have no access to electricity. This study was carried out in Bawean Islands which are located in the Java Sea about 150 km North of Surabaya, the headquarters of East Java. The study to determine the energy services available in the Bawean Island was done through interviewing a random sample of 72 households in two villages namely Komalasa and Lebak. Based on the average monthly electricity consumption of the sampled households connected to the grid, a hybrid renewable energy based electrical supply system was designed for Gili Timur Island, one of the satellite islands around Bawean Island. The system was designed with the aid of a time step simulation software used to design and analyze hybrid power systems. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out on the optimum system to study the effects of variation in some of the system variables. HOMER suggests that for the expected peak load of 131 kW, an optimum system will consist of 150 kW from PV array, two wind turbines each rated 10 kW, a 75 kW diesel generator and batteries for storage.


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