Coronavirus restrictions are becoming visible in electricity use patterns

A reasonable hypothesis is that closures of schools and workplaces would cause electricity consumption to look more like weekend patterns. So far, that does not appear to be the case. As of March 27, the typical contrast between weekends and weekdays persists, even in the regions like California and New York where people’s activities are most restricted. The example below, from Seattle, shows weekend demand remains smaller.

However, a detailed look at time-of-day electricity use by the Energy Information Administration shows lower overall demand and more gradual rise in morning energy consumption; and New York is reporting a 6% to 9% reduction in electricity usage as of late March. So, the effects of virus restrictions are starting to appear but are hard to pick up without close scrutiny.*

Texas shows the interplay of wind and natural gas

The EIA grid monitor shows the sources of electricity operating at any given time, revealing the intricate dance between renewables and fossil fuels. In Texas, for example, wind and natural gas provide most of the electricity, and the relationship between those two resources is intriguing. On days when the wind is strong, Texas’s 28 gigawatts of wind generating capacity can harness the resource, and the use of natural gas is correspondingly low. On March 7-8, for example, wind supplied the vast majority of electricity in Texas.

When the wind subsides, natural gas fills in the gap, as seen on March 10. On March 11 and 12, the outputs of wind and natural gas are perfectly out of phase, with gas scaling up and down to complement wind. All told, wind supplies 17.6% of electricity use in Texas, and the state is the nation’s leader in wind energy generation.

California leads the way with solar

California has installed 27 gigawatts of capacity of utility-scale solar energy. That generates most of Golden State’s electricity from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM this time of year. As with Texas, the downtime of renewable energy is filled in by natural gas.

In July, the solar energy peak is longer and more powerful than it is in March, and natural gas fires up briefly to get Californians through the evening peak in energy use.

But in the winter, solar energy generates fewer watt-hours and lasts only for eight hours. Solar generation puts a dent into the daily energy supply, but the overall portfolio is sustained by natural gas.

California generates 20% of its electricity from solar, and it’s the country’s leading generator of solar energy.

These detailed views of Texas and California illustrate why improving storage of renewable energy is essential if we are to keep reducing fossil fuel use.

The northwestern region uses its rivers

An abundance of hydroelectricity is evident in the northwestern region’s grid. The twice-daily spikes in demand are matched by outflow from dams, while coal, gas, and wind serve as supplements. At peak generation, 15% to 30% of electricity generated in this region is exported to California.

Nuclear power operates at a steady pace

In contrast to the peaks and valleys of other types of generation, nuclear energy is a flat line on the graphs. Nuclear power plants can’t change output quickly, so they chug along at a steady equilibrium, leaving it up to other types of energy to respond to fluctuations in demand.

Energy flows into and out of regions to maintain balance on the grid

‘Interchange’ shows electricity moving among different utilities and regions. In this snapshot, the Midwest region is exporting electricity to Tennessee, while importing electricity from Canada and three other regions. The ability to import and export electricity is a key part of the renewable energy puzzle, as energy can be distributed to help match production in one area with demand in another.

Use the Grid Monitor to explore energy around the U.S.

The tool can be used to look at the whole country, various regions, or specific utilities (called ‘balancing authorities’ on the tool). Data is available in real time or for any time in the recent past, and specific dates can be queried. To view graphs similar to the ones in this article, click on a region and then scroll down through the various displays. Most of the displays can be customized, allowing you to investigate all sorts of energy questions.

In this time of personal and national introspection, it seems somehow fitting to use a small part of your daily electricity supply to examine the inner workings of the nation’s infrastructure. It can help the public and policymakers appreciate the pulses of current that power our lives and maybe even come up with some suggestions for improving the flow.

*Editor’s note: This paragraph was added to the original post on April 7 when EIA publicly provided additional information about this site.