We analysed electricity demand and found coronavirus has turned weekdays into weekends

The measures to control the spread of COVID-19 are unparalleled, and this is already having an effect on Britain’s energy system. There have been massive short-term changes in the past: for instance the temporary imposition of a three-day week in the 1970s may have had an even greater overall effect, but this was due to industrial action in the coal sector affecting the supply of energy. This time, the disruption is on the demand side—the energy is still available, but the demand for it has reduced.