Partial data released by the Electric Energy Trading Chamber - CCEE point to the drop in energy consumption by Brazilians since last Tuesday (17), when the official quarantine was established as an official containment measure for Covid-19.

According to the organization's information, in the comparison of working days (March 16 to 20) in relation to the same ones from the previous week, there was a reduction in the consumption of electricity - which accounts for the residential and industrial segments.

On Tuesday (17th), already considering the restriction measures imposed by the Federal Government, the fall in consumption was 0.7% in relation to the same day of the previous week, with a load of 67,731 average MW. On Wednesday (18) and Thursday (19), this decrease was accentuated to 1.9% and 4.6%, with 67,585 average MW and 66,060 average MW, respectively, on the same basis of comparison.

And last Friday (20), when the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro had also announced new restrictive measures, the fall was much more accentuated: 8.7%, with an average consumption of 63,718MW.

On Monday (23), for example, the average load of electricity in the country, at 9:00 am, when the demand for energy generally grows, was 61,999 average MW, a reduction of 18.6% in relation to the same Monday of last week. At 2 pm, when peak consumption occurs, the reduction was 18.8%, even at the same level, with a load of 67,164 average MW.

“The indices reflect a tendency towards a more pronounced decline in electricity consumption in the coming days, considering the restrictive measures that are being announced by the authorities at the federal, state and municipal levels. But we will still have to monitor this behavior in order to more effectively measure its impact both for the electricity sector and for the economic segments that depend on it ”, explains the chairman of the Board of Directors of CCEE, Rui Altieri.