Lockdown Reduces UK Electricity Consumption by a Tenth

Electricity demand in the UK fell by a tenth last week as the coronavirus lockdown shuttered hundreds of thousands of workplaces and businesses.

Average electricity demand remained stable until the lockdown announced by the government Monday evening took effect on Tuesday, marking “the end of the normal energy pattern,” Paul Verrill, director of energy consultancy EnAppSys, said.

The lockdown has forced pubs, restaurants and cafes to close their doors, while offices shut as workers employees stayed home and many manufacturers, especially in the car industry, voluntarily decided to pause operations.

EnAppSys compared demand last Tuesday and Wednesday with a day in April last year with similar weather and found demand was down 10% on average, with particularly sharp decreases in the morning. 

Average demand at 6 am on March 24 and 25 was 28.1 gigawatts, down 19% from the 6 am demand on April 15, 2019.

The slump was “probably more drastic in the morning because you've not got factories starting up in the morning or people are starting a little bit later in the day,” Mr Verrill said.

Competitor Cornwall Insights compared demand last week with an average day in March 2019 and found an 11% decline.

Falling demand has provided a boost to renewable generators, which have a lower marginal cost of production than thermal generation (gas and coal) plants and are thus called on first. Depressed energy demand in Europe has also allowed the UK to source more cheap electricity from the continent via subsea cables.

The slump in daytime demand led to a decrease in wholesale prices for electricity, particularly as the use of cheaper renewable energy surged. Day-ahead electricity prices were down 10% last week compared to the week before and down 30% year on year, according to analysts S&P Global Platts.

However, consumers, whose energy consumption will rise as they spend more time at home, won’t see the effect of tumbling prices on their energy bills for months, due to suppliers’ longterm hedging strategies.

The National Grid predicted earlier this month that the more limited self-isolation measures then in force would dampen the UK’s electricity demand. This weekend the firm assured the public that the electricity supply would continue uninterrupted, even as the coronavirus epidemic disrupts many other aspects of ordinary life. 

National Grid said: “We have comprehensive and well-developed procedures in place to manage the effects of a pandemic and do not anticipate any issues in continuing to reliably supply electricity.”