| dc.description.abstract | Recent global events, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have been found to dramatically influence electricity consumption patterns, especially within European nations. In this study, the impacts of these consecutive crises on the electricity demand of selected EU countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and different regions of Italy were examined. The Ordinary Least Squares regression model was utilized to analyze hourly load data and air temperatures. The findings indicate that the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown reduced consumption uniformly across the studied regions, while the 2022 energy crisis led to varied impacts, with distinct patterns being exhibited in regions within Italy. Remarkably, resilience was shown by Bulgaria during both crises, whereas pronounced effects were experienced in Southern Italy in both periods. The importance of understanding these shifts for effective policymaking and future resilience planning is emphasized in this study. A limitation of the analysis is found in its sole use of aggregate power load data and its generalized modelling. It is suspected that clearer results could be obtained in each case if analyzed the electricity consumption data separated by sectors. | |
