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• Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on electricity power production in the state of Kuwait. • Electricity production varied across the hour-of-day and the type of lockdown policy. • Electricity production declined 9% to 14% during post-pandemic (no curfew) period. • Electricity production decreased by up to 16.4% during full lockdown period. • Curfew effect on electrical load was most evident during peak load hours. This paper investigates the impact of various COVID-19 containment measures on electricity power production in the State of Kuwait. Using longitudinal archival data from 2015 to 2020 and advanced regression analysis, the paper compares post-pandemic electricity production levels to pre-pandemic levels under various post-pandemic lockdown scenarios (ranging from no lockdown to partial and full lockdowns). The results showed a decline in average hourly electricity load during the various post-pandemic periods (compared with pre-pandemic levels) where the magnitude of the decline varied across the hour-of-day and the type of lockdown policy. On average, there was a decline of 9.0% to 14.0% in average hourly load during the post-pandemic period with no curfew policies (compared with pre-pandemic levels). This decline was magnified when lockdown was enforced, leading to a net reduction of up to 16.4%, but only when curfew hours coincided with peak load hours (i.e., from noon to sunset). These findings could help policymakers understand the impact of various COVID-19 measures on the demand for electricity, thus equipping them for optimal decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reports the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the electricity peak load and power generation in the State of Kuwait during the partial and full curfews imposed in March, April and May 2020 using historic data measured data and the predictions provided by a statistical genetic algorithm model. A quantitative assessment is made of the economic and environmental impacts caused by partial and full lockdowns. Comparison of measured peak demand for 2019 and 2020 with predicted peak demand for 2020 has: (i) enabled an accurate evaluation of residential energy consumption in the state of Kuwait at nearly 18 MWh yearly the highest energy consumption per capita in the world, (ii) shown that the imposition of the curfews to reduce the spread of COVID-19 caused a fall in the demand for electrical power of 17.6% compared with the expected demand and (iii) quantified the reduction in CO2, NOx and CO pollutant emissions produced by power plants due to less fuel being consumed. A mathematical model has been developed to predict the peak electric load in the national grid according to climatic data supplied by the Meteorological Department of Civil Aviation of Kuwait and National Control Center (NCC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]