Measures to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak impact on energy poverty: Preliminary analysis based on the Italian and Spanish experiences

The Covid-19 outbreak that spread worldwide at the beginning of 2020 exacerbated energy poverty issues. Several countries tried to contain the epidemic through confinement measures that require people to stay home. This measure had a two-fold effect: i) the energy needs of residential consumers grew, due to both augmented conventional demand (space heating, hot water, cooking and dishwashing) and new energy demand (as the one related with teleworking); ii) the confinement, or the associated measures, provoked a strong contraction in the job market, with many people losing their employment, either temporarily or permanently.