Covid Impacts on PJM Demand

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Like everyone else, PJM has had to react to the impacts of Covid-19 on their operations. Their Systems Operations Subcommittee has created an Operations Pandemic Coordination Team to discuss pandemic coordination operations. In addition, weekly on Fridays, PJM is providing status updates for each state and other members/stakeholders.

Estimated Impact Daily Peak and Energy.jpg

PJM Planning Committee has also been generating weekly updates on Covid-19 impacts to load. The graph above was taken from the most recent (April 14, 2020) presentation. Here are the findings:

  • On weekdays last week (week of 4/6), peak came in on average 8-9% lower (~7500 MW) than anticipated.

  • Largest impacts so far were around 10-11% (~9500 MW) on 3/26.

  • Energy has been less affected, with average weekday reduction since mid-March being 7%.

  • Weekends have been impacted less (~2-4%)

Take-aways: Obviously the change in work patterns via stay-at-home/shelter-in-place orders have impacted demand, but how so? What about the huge increase in unemployment? If the 8% reduction in peak is coincidental load, does that mean the energy footprint of our office employees while at work is higher than when working from home? What about the weekend load, is that all retail closures? Difficult to say at this point what the root cause is with so many variables.