The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has changed the course of how businesses of all sizes operate, most directly reflected by changes in their energy consumption patterns. Measures being implemented to flatten the hospitalization capacity curve have also flattened peak energy consumption times as seen below, shaving off the peaks. This indicates the peak is happening at 11 AM, instead of 8 AM. Additionally, this same consumption is 9.77% lower than historical averages from 2016 –2019.
This is based on a national average for the U.S. In the New England region, peak times still follow the same time frames, occurring from 3 PM – 5 PM; however, the consumption has decreased by 9.54%, highly decreasing the load on the regional grid. Overall, this is enabling renewables to produce sufficient energy, and fulfill the required demand. This means less natural gas plants need to be fired up, and lead to lower energy prices.