By late March, lockdowns caused a 13% drop in average daily demand in the overall in the area of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). Demand remained subdued through April, analysts at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted.
In its hourly electric grid monitor, the EIA compares demand data from the 64 balancing authorities in the contiguous United States, including NYISO. Using this data, analysts compared daily electricity demand in 2020 through May 1 with the same daily averages from January through June in 2016–2019, excluding weekends.
NYC hit hardest
New York City, hardest hit by the pandemic, saw the most pronounced changes in electricity demand and usage patterns, the EIA hourly electric grid monitor shows.
Downtown New York, the NYISO Zone J, normally consumes about one-third of total NYISO supply. However, the lockdowns from late March through April slashed daily weekday electricity demand to levels 16% lower than historical demand.
NYISO reports that “the reduction in electric demand from commercial customers is a leading driver of overall reduced electricity consumption.” More than half of New York State’s electricity sales go to commercial end-users, a percentage only exceeded by the District of Columbia (72%), according to data in the EIA’s Electric Power Monthly.