Change in Electric Power Consumption in Mongolia in 2020 and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper deals with the change in electric power (EP) consumption in Mongolia in 2020 based on data on the maximum and minimum EP consumption a day, provided by NPTG. The changes in EP consumption in Mongolia in detail as weekly or seasonal changes as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been clear, even though annual EP consumption was provided from the reports of the World Bank, IEA, and other international institutes as statistical data. Differences in the maximum average hourly and the minimum EP consumption in a day was 277 MWh (30.2%) and in the maximum and minimum daily EP consumption in 2020, which appeared in winter and summer, respectively, was 933 MWh (71.3%). Also, a 104-MWh (14.8%) drop was confirmed on special days like Naadam. To discuss the impact of COVID-19, the values of 2017 were used as a criterion for a year absent of a pandemic, and the stringency index, an indicator used to quantify the severity and stringency of government policies and measures, was introduced, and compared with the monthly EP consumption in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic decreased the EP consumption of 40 MWh (2 to 6%) except in December due to the free-electricity policy. The EP consumption showed the dependency of the stringency index, particularly a clear drop over 50 of the index values. These new findings of EP consumption properties are expected to apply EP demand forecasting and make design plans for future EP systems in Mongolia.