Electric.ie July/ August 2020

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 37 Tracking effect of COVID‐19 on electricity supply and demand during first month of lockdown D ata includes insights into energy use during April 2020, the first full month of travel and business restrictions arising from the COVID-19 public health emergency. Key insights include: • Current indications are that average daily electricity demand was some 15% to 20% lower during the first week of ‘stay-at- home’ restrictions compared with the same week a month previous. • The average daily demand from week 3 to week 12 of 2020 was around 90 GWh. • The first week of the stay-at-home restriction was week 14 when demand dropped to an average of 76 GWh. Industry News • The second week of the travel restriction included Easter (weekend of week 15 and 16) demand dropped further to 71 GWh and has remained more or less at this level since. Easter occurred between week 16 and 17 in 2019, hence the dip in demand in the 2019 series. • In week 21, demand averaged 71 GWh, a 21% reduction on pre- restrictions. • Using an intensity figure of 0.33 kgCO2/kWh, this results in a 6.3 ktCO2 per day reduction in emissions. www.seai.ie Tanaiste Leo Varadkar announces €6.5m euro in grants to retail sector through Covid-19 Online Retail Scheme T he Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, has recently announced the successful applicants approved for funding through the Covid-19 Online Retail Scheme, which is administered by Enterprise Ireland. 183 retailers have been approved for €6.5m in funding as part of the scheme, which is targeted at online retailers to strengthen their online offering and enable them to reach a wider customer base. Almost three quarters of the successful applicants are located outside Dublin with 130 retailers from these regions approved for funding. The value of the scheme, which received 373 applications, was increased from €2m to €6.5m due to the high level of demand amongst retailers and the high quality of the proposals received. The Scheme helps Irish-owned retailers to strategically enhance their online sales capabilities, so they can be more competitive, sustain jobs and subsequently scale their businesses in international markets. Under this Covid-19 competitive call, the successful applicants will receive funding ranging from €16,000 to €40,000 to strengthen their online offering. The average grant value is €35,500. Enterprise Ireland will be opening a 2nd Call under the Covid-19 Online Retail Scheme in the coming weeks. ‒ 183 retailers will receive funding via the scheme which aims to accelerate Irish retailers’ online offering and increase competitiveness.