The electricity consumption in most countries of the European Union (EU) remained at a much lower level compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, despite partially removing restrictions and starting of the tourism season, Eurostat said Monday.
The EU's statistical office said that the total EU electricity consumption in June was 7.6 percent lower than the lowest June value recorded between 2016 and 2019.
Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Slovenia showed a decrease of more than 10 percent when compared with the lowest June level since 2016.
As tourism is an important sector for the majority of these countries, a reduction in the number of tourists perhaps led to a decrease in electricity consumption, said Eurostat. The tourism sector has seen a major decline due to countries issuing travel warnings and imposing quarantine measures.
Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal and Finland reported a reduction in electricity consumption of five percent to ten percent, while the drop was between one percent and five percent in Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovakia.
EU countries have taken restrictive measures since mid-March to slow down the spread of COVID-19, including the closure of factories, schools, restaurants, bars and hotels, etc.
Many companies lowered production levels due to a lack of demand or because of interruption to their supply chain. By the end of May and continuing into June, many countries started to partially remove restrictions and the tourism season began.
Editor:Cherie
