Daylight saving time and energy consumption: The case of Argentina

Hancevic, Pedro and Margulis, Diego (2016): Daylight saving time and energy consumption: The case of Argentina.

Abstract

Daylight saving time (DST) has been actively used as a mechanism for energy conservation and reduction of GHG emissions. In the case of Argentina, the most recent experiences with DST occurred during the austral summer periods of 2007-08 and 2008-09, when the policy was finally abandoned. The benefits of DST and the size of the (potential) energy savings are still part of an ongoing discussion in a country where energy subsidies imply a heavy fiscal burden. Using a difference-in-differences framework that exploits the quasi-experimental nature of the program implementation, we use hourly data for the 2005-2010 period at the province level and estimate the impact of DST on electricity consumption and on peak demand. The main results are: DST increases total electricity consumption between 0.4% and 0.6%, but decreases peak demand between 2.4% and 2.9%.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: daylight saving time; electricity consumption; peak demand; energy conservation; air pollution
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities > L94 - Electric Utilities; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q4 - Energy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q54 - Climate ; Natural Disasters and Their Management ; Global Warming

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