The coronavirus pandemic could slash worldwide economic growth by over one-third this year, putting the brakes on electricity demand and leading to intensified competition among coal, gas, nuclear, and renewables in many markets, according to energy analysts IHS Markit.
The Paris-headquartered group has revised its global “pre-outbreak” outlook of 2.5% down to 1.7%, but spotlights that the load growth in China, the world’s largest power market, could slip by 1% in 2020 owing to reduced commercial and industrial activity, causing “notable” ripple-out sector damage.
