COVID-19 Challenges, Opportunities - A Valuable Lesson for the Future Sustainable Development of Energy Management

Abstract

The drastic variations in energy demand have a significant impact on the operation of energy networks. The COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in electricity demand profile, directly affecting the efficiency and in some cases the stability of the systems. An overview of these outputs underscores the importance of making effective policy decisions to promote the transition to more sustainable energy systems. The goal is for the systems to be able to withstand the effects of threats like the, still ongoing, pandemic, of extreme weather phenomena which occur more frequently due to climate change and the of potential risk of a looming global energy crisis. The purpose of this article is to present methodologies for creating a safer and more sustainable energy system during extreme situations like a lockdown. The integration of distributed energy sources into the utility network paves the way for resilient urban grids and infrastructure. In this line of approach, a critical analysis of the energy management systems typologies and a SWOT/ PESTLE analysis to reveal the most important factors while managing an energy system, are presented. This analysis aids in the selection of the appropriate energy system by taking into account both internal and external factors, with a special focus on the social aspect in the context of resilience. The results indicate that, when permissible constraints allow, a centralized energy system is chosen to better deal with crisis scenarios, such as pandemic conditions.