By P Gosselin
A 12% drop in German electricity consumption is the difference between economic pain and prosperity.
If you want to see a good example of how vital electricity and energy are to an economy, look no further than Germany. Since the country has imposed strict restrictions on people gathering, large parts of industry have been harshly impacted. The existence of millions of German people is now threatened.
Non-essential retailers, events and venues have been ordered closed. The halted demand has led to a braking of the economy. With the country already teetering on recession, economists agree that the new restrictions will now drive the country deep into recession territory. This will also be the case with many countries around the world as they scramble to contain the COVID-19 virus spread.
Not surprisingly, the economic drop has been reflected by Germany’s electricity consumption since March 1:
German electricity consumption drops in the wake of economic restrictions. Source: Agora.
12% drop in electricity consumption
The data show that under normal conditions, peak German electricity consumption hovers near 72 GW on a given workday But since the German government announced the tough restrictions last Sunday, peak power consumption has fallen some 12%, to 64 GW.
While environmentalists like preach the need to save on energy, it just goes to show that a 10% drop is enough to break an economy and cause mass hardship for millions of people. Without reliable, affordable energy, a healthy economy and high standard of living is simply not possible. Activists pushing for a “green economy” should look seriously at the implications of what they are calling for.
In order for a country to become prosperous, it needs to consume energy in order to work and produce more goods and services. The last thing it should do is consume less. Less energy means less work, which means lower living standards. A green, unstable energy economy will not deliver prosperity, but rather will only bring hardship and pain.
