Much has been happening across the United States as Americans continue to wait for the latest news updates on COVID-19. Over the last week, many states have given stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of the virus, Congress passed the $2 trillion stimulus package, which President Donald Trump plans to sign, and the internet is off the rails with humorous memes. We’re absolutely sure you’ve seen some or all of these headlines, but wanted to share a few headlines about how the virus is impacting the energy industry. In case you missed last week’s stories, you can find them right here.
5Utility companies are putting emergency plans in place, including asking workers to live on site.
Keeping the lights on and the nation running are imperative as we are in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. That means utility contingency plans are including key personnel to be on site for any potential issues. Reuters provides the rest of the details here.
4In addition to potentially moving employees into facilities, power companies are also seeing load impacts.
American companies are following the example from energy utilities across the world. About a week after Italy went on lockdown, it saw an 18% to 21% reduction in peak demand and energy usage. It is still too early to fully predict the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S., but important for American consumers to be aware of. Utility Dive shares the rest of the story here.
3Despite a global pandemic, the energy regulatory show must go on.
As the Environmental Protection Agency remains open and continues to work, so are other federal agencies working on proposed changes to Federal rules. One requires raw data from any scientific study to be disclosed – including medical records, that could be used to identify people. Thankfully, the public can still make their own voices heard as part of the rulemaking process at regulations.gov. The Associated Press continues this story here.
2Let’s take a moment to thank our fellow truck drivers, who are tirelessly hauling food and essential goods across America to ensure the shelves in our stores are stocked. They are risking their own health to help keep us safe, fed and medicated during the outbreak.
In addition to being at risk of contracting the coronavirus itself, the transportation sector is vulnerable to the economic impact of COVID-19, citing that a disruption in the supply chain and lower freight demands may hurt trucking carriers and other intermodal businesses. Utility Dive parcels out the story here.
1Regularly planned outages at nuclear power plants have been thwarted by the novel coronavirus.
Nuclear power plants are designed to have shutdowns every 18 to 24 months for regular maintenance. This typically takes 30 to 60 days, and requires specialized workers to move throughout the country to perform these duties. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has challenged the mobility aspect of this critical process. Power Magazine covers the rest here.
