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.

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