By Ben Gemen
The downturn in the Permian Basin, the heart of the U.S. oil patch, was large enough to cause a big drop in electricity use there, analysis from a University of Chicago energy think tank shows.
What they did: Their analysis looks at daily declines and fluctuation compared to a pre-COVID baseline (captured above), as well as the average drop-off since mid-March, which is 24%.
How it works: Oil production sites often use electric-powered pumps, so the shut-in of thousands of wells meant a big decline in power demand.