"US Power Use Weakening After Plunging in Italy Amid Coronavirus"
Richard Newell is quoted in Wall Street Journal article on the use of electricity demand as an indicator of economic activity.
Richard Newell was quoted in Wall Street Journal article on the use of electricity demand as an indicator of economic activity. Listed below is the full quote:
“Economists at the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy’s statistical arm, considered using electricity as an economic indicator. The idea was raised in a 2014 working paper but never adopted by the government.
Richard Newell, former head of the EIA and currently president of Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C., policy group focused on energy and the environment, said the idea has merits, citing a strong correlation between electricity use, employment and economic activity. ‘This relationship holds true both over the long term and during short-term shocks like recessions,’ he said.”
Read the full article here.
