The impact of Covid-19 on Italian consumption: data by sector

The electricity system data tell us about Italy’s history, which in 2020 centred around the Covid-19 pandemic. We previously wrote about this following the distribution of the provisional operating data, but with their consolidation in the recent Terna Annual Statistical Report for 2020, we are now able to verify and quantity the consequences of the epidemic on our energy system and, as a result, on the national economy. As well as portraying the Italian production structure in a year as particular as that of the pandemic, characterised by an unprecedented phase of recession, these statistical data are also directly comparable with those of the 2019 electricity consumption classed by Ateco code, an alphanumeric combination that identifies all types of economic activity.

In 2019, Terna reported on electricity consumption according to the Ateco 2007 classification for the first time, creating a large advantage in terms of data comparability at international level and the capacity to represent the changes in the Italian economy. In general, the restrictions needed to limit the spread of the pandemic caused a significant slowdown in the economy and a marked reduction in electricity consumption in 2020 compared to 2019, reaching around 284 TWh (-6.0% compared to 2019), the lowest value observed since 2000.

The electricity system data tell us about Italy’s history, which in 2020 centred around the Covid-19 pandemic. We previously wrote about this following the distribution of the provisional operating data, but with their consolidation in the recent Terna Annual Statistical Report for 2020, we are now able to verify and quantity the consequences of the epidemic on our energy system and, as a result, on the national economy. As well as portraying the Italian production structure in a year as particular as that of the pandemic, characterised by an unprecedented phase of recession, these statistical data are also directly comparable with those of the 2019 electricity consumption classed by Ateco code, an alphanumeric combination that identifies all types of economic activity.

In 2019, Terna reported on electricity consumption according to the Ateco 2007 classification for the first time, creating a large advantage in terms of data comparability at international level and the capacity to represent the changes in the Italian economy. In general, the restrictions needed to limit the spread of the pandemic caused a significant slowdown in the economy and a marked reduction in electricity consumption in 2020 compared to 2019, reaching around 284 TWh (-6.0% compared to 2019), the lowest value observed since 2000.

Analysing the performance of consumption in the various Italian regions, Tuscany, Lombardy and Basilicata had a greater drop in overall consumption compared to 2019, with around -7%. Analysing the individual sectors, services suffered the greatest decline in Abruzzo and Marche (nearly -21%), while industry reached its maximum decrease in Valle d’Aosta. Agriculture is the only sector that bucked the trend in most regions: it reached its highest growth in Umbria with over 46% growth in electricity consumption, while the greatest decrease was recorded in Emilia Romagna (-8%). The domestic sector also fluctuated nationally, with a 4.3% increase in Sicily and a 2.8% decrease in Valle d’Aosta.

If we instead look at changes in terms of GWh, the region that lost the most in terms of overall electricity consumption was Lombardy (-4,700 GWh), followed by a group of regions that suffered losses of over 1,500 GWh (Veneto, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna).

If we take 2021 into consideration, we see a decisive improvement in the economic climate, through an analysis of the IMCEI index on industrial consumption, a measurement built on the basis of the daily withdrawals of approximately 530 large industries with direct high-voltage connections. In the first eight months of 2021 (January-August), the IMCEI index recorded a double-digit increase of +16.4%, thus confirming a positive “consolidation” dynamic of the industry’s activity that already began in January. The classes contributing most to this result were the steel sector and mechanical engineering. In the first three weeks of September, the progress of industrial activity continued, with the index reaching 8.5% growth compared to the same period in 2020.

Analysing the services sector, on the other hand, based on the monthly electricity consumption data provided to Terna by a number of distributors, we can see the sector progressively recovering. The January-July 2021 period saw +3% growth compared to the same period in 2020, with an increase already beginning in May. The classes of the services sector that had the highest year-on-year growth (July 2021 vs July 2020) were hotels, restaurants and bars (+6%) and education (+9%). In the January-July period the classes that recorded the highest increase compared to 2020 were professional, scientific and technical activities (+12%), education (+12%) and real estate (+7%). Commerce and hotels, restaurants and bars, albeit with a growth of 2% and 3% respectively, were classes that accounted for 26% and 13% of the total services.