Energy usage down for businesses, up for homes during spring lockdown
As might be expected, Utah businesses used less energy in the second quarter of this year during the height of COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. And Utah homes used more. That’s according to a study released by the commercial real estate website commercialcafe.com with data taken from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Utah registered an 11 percent dip in commercial energy consumption in the April-through-June timeframe while residential power usage grew by 15 percent. The net result was a 1 percent overall drop in energy consumption levels.
Nationally, total energy use fell 4 percent during the second quarter compared to the same time period last year. The sharpest drop was in the commercial sector, with a decrease of 11 percent year-over-year, while residential consumption saw an increase of 8 percent.