Open-Access Data and Toolbox for Tracking COVID-19 Impact on Power Systems

Intervention policies against COVID-19 have caused large-scale disruptions globally, and led to a series of pattern changes in the power system operation. Analyzing these pandemic-induced patterns is imperative to identify the potential risks and impacts of this extreme event. For this purpose, we developed an open-access data hub (COVID-EMDA+), an open-source toolbox (CoVEMDA), and a few evaluation methods to explore what the U.S. power systems are experiencing during COVID-19. These resources could be broadly used for research, public policy, and educational purposes. Technically, our data hub harmonizes a variety of raw data such as generation mix, demand profiles, electricity price, weather observations, mobility, confirmed cases and deaths. Typical methods are reformulated and standardized in our toolbox, including baseline estimation, regression analysis, and scientific visualization. Here the fluctuation index and probabilistic baseline are proposed for the first time to consider data fluctuation and estimation uncertainty. Furthermore, we conduct three empirical studies on the U.S. power systems, and share new solutions and findings to address several issues of public concerns. This conveys a more complete picture of the COVID-19 impact and also opens up several attractive topics for future work. Python, Matlab source codes, and user manuals are all publicly shared on a Github repository.

Editorial Special Section on COVID-19 Impact on Electrical Grid Operation: Analysis and Mitigation

COVID-19-related shutdowns have significantly impacted the electrical grid operation worldwide, as governments put strict measures in place to manage the global pandemic. The global electrical demand plummeted around the planet in March, April, and May 2020, with countries such as Spain and Italy experiencing more than 20% decrease in their usual electric consumption. On the other hand, countries like Canada experienced unusually high summer peaks due to the increase in demand for the residential HVAC systems. Electricity network operators are facing unprecedented challenges in scheduling energy resources;for example, energy forecasting systems struggle to provide an accurate demand prediction given massive changes in patterns of electricity consumption induced by COVID-19 restrictions.

Author Correction: Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20254-5.

Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting human activities, and in turn energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Here we present daily estimates of country-level CO2 emissions for different sectors based on near-real-time activity data. The key result is an abrupt 8.8% decrease in global CO2 emissions (-1551 Mt CO2) in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The magnitude of this decrease is larger than during previous economic downturns or World War II. The timing of emissions decreases corresponds to lockdown measures in each country. By July 1st, the pandemic's effects on global emissions diminished as lockdown restrictions relaxed and some economic activities restarted, especially in China and several European countries, but substantial differences persist between countries, with continuing emission declines in the U.S. where coronavirus cases are still increasing substantially.

A Cross-Domain Approach to Analyzing the Short-Run Impact of COVID-19 on the US Electricity Sector.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has rapidly spread around the globe in 2020, with the US becoming the epicenter of COVID-19 cases since late March. As the US begins to gradually resume economic activity, it is imperative for policymakers and power system operators to take a scientific approach to understanding and predicting the impact on the electricity sector. Here, we release a first-of-its-kind cross-domain open-access data hub, integrating data from across all existing US wholesale electricity markets with COVID-19 case, weather, mobile device location, and satellite imaging data. Leveraging cross-domain insights from public health and mobility data, we rigorously uncover a significant reduction in electricity consumption that is strongly correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases, degree of social distancing, and level of commercial activity.

Implications of COVID-19 for the Electricity Industry: A Comprehensive Review

As COVID-19 sweeps through the whole world, human activities have been changed significantly. Under such circumstances, the electricity sector is deeply affected and faced with great challenges. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the impacts that the pandemic has caused on the electricity sector. Electricity demand has dropped sharply as governments around the world executed lockdown restrictions, while the load composition and daily load profile have also changed. The share of renewable generation has increased against the decline of the total electricity generation. Changed power balance situation and increased uncertainty of demand have posed higher pressure on system operators, along with voltage violation issue and challenges for system maintenance and management. The electricity market is also substantially influenced, while long-term investment in clean energy is expected to be stable. The externality such as emission reduction is also discussed.