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The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (4 September 2023) | Viewed by 21144

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Dr. Jakub Kraciuk

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Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: international economics; energy economics; nternational trade; foreign direct investment; international migration; globalization and digitalization; international governance; world economy; regional integration; agricultural economics; food industry; food security

Dr. Elzbieta Kacperska

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Guest Editor

Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: international economics; international trade; foreign direct investment; international migration; globalization and digitalization; international governance; world economy; regional integration; agricultural economics; food industry; food security; energy economics; renewable energy sources

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic announced in 2020 has spread worldwide. Its enormous scale, speed of its spread, extraordinary complexity and the resulting uncertainty and interdependence of these phenomena have become a precedent in the modern economy of Central and Eastern Europe. Many sectors and economic activities in the region have been adversely influenced by the effects of the pandemic. There was a dramatic decline in economic growth, especially in industrial and agricultural production, as well as a drop in consumer spending, investments, trade and employment. In the area of finance, a decline has been observed in stock exchange quotations, international capital flows and the value of national currencies. The crisis triggered by the pandemic significantly affected the economic activity of enterprises from this region. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many sectors, one of which is the energy sector. It caused demand and supply shocks in the energy resources market. This influenced changes in the model of energy consumption and distribution, while also influencing changes in energy balance. The purpose of the Special Issue is to collect results of research and empirical studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and energy markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Jakub Kraciuk
Dr. Elzbieta Kacperska
Guest Editors

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Keywords

trade and politics in Central and Eastern Europe
economic prosperity in times of pandemics energy market
renewable energy
energy demand
energy supply
energy efficiency
policy
COVID-19 pandemic
economics
innovation and COVID-19
food security
capital market
employment
agricultural market
food industry
economic crisis
supply chains
sustainability and pandemics

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2268 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Changes in the Pattern of Weekdays Electricity Real Consumption during the COVID-19 Crisis

by Nicolae-Marius Jula, Diana-Mihaela Jula, Bogdan Oancea, Răzvan-Mihail Papuc and Dorin Jula

Energies 2023, 16(10), 4169; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16104169 - 18 May 2023

Viewed by 947

Abstract

In this paper, using data from Romania, we analysed the changes in electricity consumption generated during the COVID-19 crisis, and the measures taken against the spread of the coronavirus to limit the effects of the pandemic. Using a seasonal autoregressive econometric model, we found that, beyond seasonal (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) effects, the average daily electricity real consumption in Romania, during the state of the emergency period (16 March 16 to 14 May 2020) decreased by −194.8 MW (about −2.9%), compared to the historical data (2006–March 2022), and this decrease is not due to the action of some random factors, and it is not a manifestation of domain-specific seasonality. The literature discusses the hypothesis that during the pandemic time, the profile of daily electricity consumption on weekdays was close to the typical Sunday profile. We tested a similar hypothesis for Romania. As a methodology, we tried to go beyond the simple interpretation of statistics and graphics (as found in most papers) and we calculated some measures of distances (the Mahalanobis distance, Manhattan distance) and similarity (coefficient of correlation, cosines coefficient) between the vectors of daily electricity real consumptions, by hourly intervals. As the time interval, we have analysed, for Romania, the electricity real consumption over the period January 2006–March 2022, by day of the week and within the day, by hourly intervals (5911 observations). We found (not very strong) evidence supporting a hypothesis that, in the pandemic crisis, the profile of electricity consumption approaches the weekend pattern only for the state of the emergency period, and we could not find the same evidence for the state of the alert period (June 2020–March 2022). The strongest closeness is to the hourly consumption pattern of Saturday. That is, for Romania, in terms of electricity consumption, “under lockdown, every day is a Sunday” (Staffell) it is rather “under lockdown, every day is (almost) a Saturday”! During the state of the alert period, consumption returned to the pre-crisis profile. Since certain behaviours generated by the pandemic have been maintained in the medium and long term (distance learning, working from home, online sales, etc.), such studies can have policy implications, especially for setting energy policy measures (e.g., in balancing load peaks). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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17 pages, 2304 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Renewable Energy Sources in Electricity Production in Poland and the Background of Energy Policy of the European Union at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Crisis

by Piotr Bórawski, Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska, Lisa Holden and Tomasz Rokicki

Energies 2022, 15(22), 8771; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15228771 - 21 Nov 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2649

Abstract

Electricity production in Poland is stable and ranges from 160–170 TWH a year. The share of renewable energy sources (RES) is increasing. Poland increased its share from 6.9% in 2010 to 12.7% in 2019 and 16.1% in 2020. The share of hard and brown coal decreased in Poland from 87.8% in 2010 to 73.5% in 2019. Wind energy (9.2%) and natural gas (9.2%) are the most important sources of RES in electricity production. The purpose of this research is to discover the changes in renewable energy production, and the impact on electricity production in Poland. Our research showed the extent of development of RES in Poland and other countries of the European Union. The share of renewable energy sources in electricity production increased as the effect of energy policy of the European Union. We also evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the renewable energy market and electricity production in Poland, and other countries of the European Union. Because of the shortage of data, we presented changes at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in 2019–2020. First, we described the sustainable development and energy policy of the European Union. Then, we described and used methods, including regression analysis, as the most important method. We also found that the power capacity in Poland increased, with the increases coming from solar radiation (11,984%), wind energy (437.8%) and biomass installations (324.7%) in 2010–2020. The biggest electricity producers in the EU are France and Germany. These countries also use nuclear energy, which helps to meet the increasing demand. To check the impact of power installed from renewable energy carriers we conducted a regression analysis. This method provided a correlation between electricity production from renewable energy sources and investments in renewable energy carriers. We wanted to discover the impact of RES installations, and their impact on electricity production in Poland. The statistical analysis was based on data from 2010–2020. Our research points out that the most important factors shaping electricity production were installations using energy from solar radiation and hydropower installations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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25 pages, 362 KiB

Open AccessArticle

CSR in Poland and the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in the Energy Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Izabella Lecka, Janusz Gudowski and Tomasz Wołowiec

Energies 2022, 15(19), 7057; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15197057 - 26 Sep 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1508

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine whether the COVID-19 epidemic has slowed the fulfilment of one of the core tasks of the energy sector “Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All” (SDG7) taking into account corporate social responsibility. Four research questions and hypotheses were posed, relating to the perspectives of local authorities, the activities of large energy companies, the impact of the epidemic on the implementation of the SDG7 and, in addition, to the understanding of CSR principles from the point of view of ordinary entrepreneurs. A qualitative descriptive analysis based on two reliable databases and a survey procedure (Question 4) was used to answer the research questions posed. The goal was achieved by positively confirming three hypotheses and testing one negatively, relating to COVID-19’s slowing role in SDG7 implementation. The analysis showed that the 2020–2021 epidemic in Poland has led to more initiatives in this area, contrary to expectations. However, they were linked to the simultaneous implementation of other SDGs, which distorted their importance for achieving Goal 7. In summary, although energy companies were more active than expected during the epidemic, they had a low contribution to SDG 7. This also applies to local authorities. An analysis of the knowledge about CSR in a group of entrepreneurs from the Lublin district (case study) confirmed the opinion appearing in the literature about the lack of understanding of the concept and the need for its application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

11 pages, 1134 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Employment and Competencies of Employees in the Energy Sector in Poland

by Marzena Kacprzak, Agnieszka Król, Izabela Wielewska, Anna Milewska and Zbigniew Ciekanowski

Energies 2022, 15(19), 6941; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15196941 - 22 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1403

Abstract

Employment and the competencies of employees in the energy sector are coming into particular prominence in economies around the world. It is one of the few sectors positively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, a significant global change in the awareness of society occurred in favor of increasing pro-health and pro-environmental activities, which can be seen in the green transformation. Poland can also boast such changes in recent years, as evidenced by the dynamic development of renewable energy sources (boom for photovoltaics) and the increase in prosumption. Correlated with this is the increase in demand for employees with specific competencies, the so-called multi-competencies that are a compilation of technical, business, and soft and hard competencies, as well as interdisciplinary ones. The paper emphasizes the need to better adjust the education system to the real needs of the labor market in a turbulent environment with the use of the Sectoral Qualifications Framework in Energy, developed in cooperation with stakeholders from the industry. Therefore, the authors analyzed the employment structure in the energy sector in Poland, with particular emphasis on the factors and conditions of this structure and made an attempt to identify and create a competency profile of employees in this area. For the purposes of this article, two key research problems were formulated: What are the key competencies of employees in the energy sector? How is employment changing in this area? The following research hypothesis was also put forward: The transformation of the energy sector towards green energy affects the increase in employment in this area and the increase in the demand for soft competencies. The analysis was based on statistical data, reports, job advertisements, and a review of the results of empirical research to date. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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18 pages, 1296 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Innovative Energy Technologies in Road Transport in Selected EU Countries

by Jakub Kraciuk, Elżbieta Kacperska, Katarzyna Łukasiewicz and Piotr Pietrzak

Energies 2022, 15(16), 6030; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15166030 - 19 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1644

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to assess and classify selected EU countries to groups differing in terms of the degree of implementation of innovative energy technologies to alleviate adverse externalities in road transport. This aim was realised using three groups of research methods: collection of empirical data, data processing and presentation of study outcomes. When collecting the research material, the authors used the method of critical literature review and the documentation method. The research material was processed using the agglomerative clustering technique, which was one of the hierarchical clustering methods. The distance between objects (here, selected EU countries) was determined based on the Euclidean distance. The outcome of this analysis was a dendrogram, which constitutes a graphical interpretation of obtained results. The study was conducted on 21 EU countries. The analyses covered the years 2013–2019. The sources of materials included literature on the subject and the Eurostat data. The problem of innovative energy technologies in road transport is presently of considerable importance. This results from the current situation related to human activity. As a result of the conducted cluster analysis, groups were distinguished based on differences in the use of innovative energy technologies alleviating negative externalities generated by road transport. The first group comprised Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland. Compared to the other groups, this group was distinguished by the highest values of four indexes, i.e., the share of renewable energy sources used in transport in 2019, the share in the market of electric passenger vehicles in 2019, the share in the market of electric lorries in 2019, as well as the share in the market of hybrid automobiles in 2019. Countries which participated the least in the elimination of negative externalities generated by road transport included Romania, Hungary, Greece, Poland, Latvia and Estonia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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21 pages, 663 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Corporate COVID-19-Related Risk Disclosure in the Electricity Sector: Evidence of Public Companies from Central and Eastern Europe

by Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak and Kristina Rudžionienė

Energies 2022, 15(16), 5810; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15165810 - 10 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1384

Abstract

Risk disclosures contribute to financial stability by providing stakeholders with a better understanding of companies’ risk exposures and risk management practices. Presently, corporate risk has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the level of disclosure varies across industries, companies, and organizations. Due to the strategic importance of the energy industry, the paper aims to assess COVID-19-related risk disclosure in the biggest electricity companies in Central and Eastern European countries, and to identify the main determinants of the disclosure. For this purpose, risk disclosure was assessed based on publicly available data disclosed by the 10 biggest public electricity companies operating in this region. Our findings indicate that factors such as the company’s size, leverage, and profitability do not significantly affect COVID-19-related risk disclosure in financial reports; nevertheless, COVID-19 risk disclosure in non-financial reports is significantly correlated with the company’s assets and revenues. Moreover, there is a significantly strong positive relationship between the scope of COVID-19-related risk disclosure in the management reports and the number of women on the company’s management board. COVID-19-related risk disclosure in management board’s reports is significantly higher than disclosure in non-financial reports and explanatory notes of financial statements. Our results suggest that risk disclosure is needed to mitigate information asymmetry, especially in pandemic situations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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21 pages, 2961 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Household Ability of Expenditures on Electricity and Energy Resources in the Countries That Joined the EU after 2004

by Krystyna Gomółka and Piotr Kasprzak

Energies 2022, 15(9), 3052; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15093052 - 21 Apr 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1487

Abstract

The purpose of the following article is to present the situation of the energy market from a household perspective between 2010 and 2020 in selected EU countries (the group of member states which joined EU after 2004). The selected countries when joining the EU had similar economic indicators and to some extent were similar in other macro-economic situations (personal income, unemployment rate, GDP level and annual growth). This article analyzes the past and current situation of the household ability expenditure on electricity and energy resources (petrol—eurosuper 95 and diesel and natural gas), taking into account price, tax conditions and the real possibility to purchase the analyzed energy sources (based on annual net salaries). The paper includes the conclusions and prospects for the future. The main objective of the study is to determine the ability amount of expenditure on electricity, natural gas and liquid fuels by household in the countries that joined the European Union after 2004. The specific objectives of the work include: the evolution of retail prices of energy sources in those countries and prices of electricity, natural gas and liquid fuels—petrol and diesel oil—in the research period from 2010 to 2020. The element that influences the final price, as assessed in this paper, is the share of taxes and compulsory charges imposed by the EU countries covered in this study. The result of the study presented inter alia that energy consumption structure did not change significantly, electricity prices were steadily growing in the countries under assessment, the use of liquid fuels—petrol and diesel oil—in the countries under study, grew over the study period. Furthermore, prices of fuel fluctuated over the period from 2010 to 2020 and during the COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out in March 2020, but did not cause any significant changes in the prices of energy carriers in the analyzed period, apart from the declines in the prices of eurosuper 95 and diesel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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21 pages, 1792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wind Energy Market in Poland in the Background of the Baltic Sea Bordering Countries in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka, Anna Sobczak and Dariusz Soboń

Energies 2022, 15(7), 2470; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15072470 - 28 Mar 2022

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 2383

Abstract

The economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic reinforces the problem of rising electricity prices, which mainly affects countries that are forced to pay ever-higher CO₂ emission allowance fees (e.g., Poland). In the light of signals confirming the need for intensive development of the wind energy market in the Baltic Sea region, the authors consider the need to examine this issue concerning Poland and the Baltic States (i.e., Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) as extremely important and demanding. The development of the RES market is currently an absolute necessity. The immediate neighbourhood and similar general social and economic conditions of Poland and the Baltic States enable factual comparisons, reinforcing the rationale for choosing the adopted research area. The main objective of the study was to assess the development of the wind energy market in Poland in the background of the Baltic Sea bordering countries in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to try to answer the question: what direction of wind energy development in Poland in the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic is justified and may have an impact on limiting the increase in electricity prices in this country? In this context, it turned out to be particularly interesting to identify solutions practised in the wind energy market in the Baltic States with their potential to be applied in Poland. The research instruments were drawn from an economic analysis and evaluation of phenomena and supported by the results of our own research (questionnaire) conducted on the Polish energy market, to substantiate the findings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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16 pages, 1772 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis and Evaluation of the Photovoltaic Market in Poland and the Baltic States

by Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka, Andrzej Kokiel, Joanna Rogozińska-Mitrut, Anna Sobczak, Dariusz Soboń and Jacek Stasiak

Energies 2022, 15(2), 669; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15020669 - 17 Jan 2022

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 2979

Abstract

The household, industrial, and service sectors in Poland and the Baltic States have been facing ever-higher bills for their electricity consumption at a time when a number of them have been hit hard financially by the pandemic. Rising inflation, the border crisis—with its set of restrictions, or the spread of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, is causing strong concerns in the social and economic sphere, with significant increases in electricity prices. Many countries are implementing measures to reduce the adverse effects of rising electricity prices in response to this complex situation. The main orientation is towards obtaining energy from renewable sources, such as the sun. The current situation in the energy market determines the price per 1 KW. Among the countries under study, the price of electricity has increased the most in Poland. On the other hand, the development of the photovoltaic segment in Poland is undergoing a strong, upward trend. The above inspired the authors to explore the energy market situation in Poland and the Baltic States in the current economic conditions, along with an analysis of its development potential in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The main research problem of this study is an attempt to answer the question of what should be changed in the development of the renewable energy market in Poland, with particular emphasis on photovoltaics, to accelerate the process of reducing CO₂ emissions, leading to a reduction in dramatically rising electricity prices. Which solutions implemented in the Baltic countries can inspire strengthening Poland’s energy market development? Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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19 pages, 2095 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Renewable Energy Sources on the Economic Growth of Poland and Sweden Considering COVID-19 Times

by Bogusław Ślusarczyk, Patrycja Żegleń, Aldona Kluczek, Anna Nizioł and Małgorzata Górka

Energies 2022, 15(1), 332; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15010332 - 04 Jan 2022

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3150

Abstract

A demonstration of the relationship between the share of renewables in gross marginal energy and selected countries’ economic growth is the basis of this research. The paper seeks to investigate mutual correlations between renewable energy sources and economic growth for two EU economies and how it influences their fluctuations (increase and decrease). The comparative analysis of results was carried out for less-income Polish and high-income Swedish economies. This research used a regression model to answer the research questions examining the presence of correlations between renewable energy sources in gross marginal energy consumption and economic growth. This study analyzes data starting from 1991 to 2022. The results indicated a positive correlation (statistical significance) between Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Income variables for Sweden (84.6% and 83.7%, respectively) and Poland (79.9% and 79.2%, respectively), which influence the use of renewable energy sources. The findings also reveal that the higher economic growth caused by the use of renewables is observed for the leading countries but at the same time the risk of a greater recession is much more likely than in other countries. These findings would help government officials and policymakers to better understand the role of renewable energy in the economic growth of these countries. This study has contributed to the literature on renewable energy sources and statistical reports under the EU energy sector framework. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Economics and Markets in Central and Eastern Europe)

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