US industrial electricity sales hit the lowest monthly level in April since 1987 due to stay-at-home orders as part of quarantine measures against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
In the US, industrial electricity sales saw a decrease of 9% in April this year compared to the same month a year ago while commercial electricity usage declined by 11%.
'Commercial electricity sales in April were the lowest April value since April 2003, and industrial sales were the lowest since April 1987,' the statement said.
On the other hand, residential electricity sales in the US increased 8% compared with April last year, the EIA said, detailing that 'residential electricity sales have never been this high in April.'
Across all sectors, US electricity sales in April 2020 declined 4% compared with April 2019, 'largely as a result of measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19,' the EIA said.
The US state of California started on March 19 to issue stay-at-home orders in response to COVID-19 and by mid-April, most US states were under stay-at-home orders.
'As the orders took effect, businesses, schools, and industrial facilities closed, and office workers transitioned to working from home,' the statement said.
The EIA said it estimates the US residential sector will have used about 3.1 million megawatt-hours (MWh) per day of electricity in April 2020, which is about 6% higher than the typical average April value.
Commercial sector electricity demand is estimated to be about 10% lower than the average April value at approximately 3.4 million MWh per day.
Industrial electricity demand is forecast to be 2.6 million MWh per day in April 2020 -- 9% lower than the typical April value.
'Electricity use in the US is typically lowest in the spring and fall months when demand for air conditioning and heating are often at their lowest levels,' the statement said.
'In each of the past 10 years, either April or October was the month with the lowest electricity demand,' it added.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr