Electricity demand during pandemic times: The case of the COVID-19 in Spain

Electricity demand and its typical load pattern are usually affected by many endogenous and exogenous factors to which the generation system must accordingly respond through utility operators. Lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 imposed by many countries have led to sudden changes in socioeconomic habits which have had direct effects on the electricity systems. Therefore, a detailed analysis of how confinement measures have modified the electricity consumption in Spain, one of the countries most affected by this pandemic, has been performed in this work. Its electricity consumption has decreased by 13.49% from March 14 to April 30, compared to the average value of five previous years. Daily power demand profiles, especially morning and evening peaks, have been modified at homes, hospitals, and in the total power demand. These changes generate a greater uncertainty for the System Operator when making demand forecasts, but production deviations have increased by only 0.1%, thanks to the presence of a diversified generation mix, which has been modified during this period, increasing the proportion of renewable sources and decreasing CO2 emissions. •Power demand in Spain has decreased by 13.49% due to lockdown measures by COVID-19.•Power demand profiles have changed its usual form on weekdays and weekends.•Average daily deviations in power predictions have only increased by 0.1%.•Renewable power generation has increased during the lockdown.•In March and April 2020, CO2 emissions have decreased by 32.61% compared to 2019.