EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON OMAN'S ELECTRICITY SECTOR

Abstract

This article reviews the recent trends of Oman's electricity sector before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The impacts of the pandemic on the Main Interconnected System (MIS) of Oman were analyzed using hourly load data. The analysis shows that the MIS demand declined as a result of the decrease in economic activities during the lockdown. In addition, the MIS demand experienced temporal and geographical variations: the former is demonstrated by a shift in peak demand hours, while the latter is represented by a reduction in Muscat's urban areas' load compared with those of other areas.