This Briefing Paper explores the impact
the COVID-19 pandemic had on the UK’s
energy sector over the course of the
first government-mandated national
lockdown that began on 23 March 2020.
Research from several aspects of the
Integrated Development of Low-carbon
Energy Systems (IDLES) programme at
Imperial College London is presented in
one overarching paper. The main aim is
to determine what lessons can be learnt
from that lockdown period, given the
unique set of challenges it presented in
our daily lives and the changes it brought
about in energy demand, supply, and
use. Valuable insights are gained into
how working-from-home policies,
electric vehicles, and low-carbon grids
can be implemented, incentivised, and
managed effectively.