We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Electricity Use as a Real-Time Indicator of the Economic Burden of the COVID-19-Related Lockdown: Evidence from Switzerland.
- Authors
Janzen, Benedikt; Radulescu, Doina
- Abstract
We employ hourly electricity load data for Switzerland as a real-time indicator of the economic effects of the lockdown following the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Our findings reveal that following the drastic lockdown, overall electricity use decreased by 4.6%, with a reduction of even 14.3% in the Canton of Ticino where the number of confirmed cases per capita was one of the highest in Switzerland and also stricter measures such as closures of construction sites and industrial companies were implemented on top of federal regulations. Looking at working days only, we estimate a Swiss-wide decrease in electricity consumption of 7.4%. Assuming industry, services, transport, and agriculture account for 67% of electricity demand, the 4.6% decrease in electricity use implies an almost 7% output reduction in these sectors. In addition, the reduced electricity imports and the change in the generation mix of neighbouring countries, also translates into reduced CO2 emissions related to these imports. (JEL codes: C53, Q4, C3)
- Subjects
SWITZERLAND; TICINO (Switzerland); ECONOMIC indicators; ELECTRIC power consumption; STAY-at-home orders; INDUSTRIAL sites; BUILDING sites
- Publication
CESifo Economic Studies, 2020, Vol 66, Issue 4, p303
- ISSN
1610-241X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/cesifo/ifaa010