Digital Energy Management amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mauritius

Abstract

COVID-19 is a global pandemic declared by the World Health Organisation in mid-March 2020. The virus epicentre was from Wuhan, a province in China but it quickly spread around the world. In order to combat the pandemic, strict sanitary measures were adopted worldwide, and full country lockdown was established in most countries including Mauritius. This strategy significantly impacted the economy as businesses closed and customary economic activities were halted with the exception of essential services. This caused a decline in the energy demand. In this paper, we explore the scope of digital energy management in the context of COVID-19 and make recommendations for the Mauritian context. The implementation of a smart grid and chatbots, the use of predictive analysis for consumer load demand and incentives for the use of IoT for smart homes are among the recommended measures discussed in this paper. We conclude how COVID-19, despite its challenges, can act as an opportunity for a digital revolution in Mauritius with regards to energy management.