Horario de verano y consumo de electricidad: el caso de Argentina

Abstract

Background: Daylight saving time (DST) has been actively used as a mechanism for energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In the case of Argentina, the most recent experiences with DST occurred during the austral summer periods of 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, when the policy was finally abandoned. However, 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. Methodology: 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. Results: The application of DST increased total electricity consumption between 0.4% and 0.6%, but decreased aggregate national peak demand between 2.4% and 2.9%. In monetary terms, DST represented extra generation costs of 10.9 and 18 million USD during summers

Analysis and Modeling of Residential Energy Consumption Profiles Using Device-Level Data: A Case Study of Homes Located in Santiago de Chile

“…In Latin America, studies like [35,36] were found, both of which used a natural experiment approach to estimate, using the DiD method, average savings of [0.4-0.6]% in Argentina and 0.5% in Mexico. In the same geographical region this study is found [37], which analyzes the impacts of ceasing to apply this policy DST in Brazil, contrasting these impacts with the energy trading scheme and empirically demonstrating that the latter's effects were positive, with benefits three to five times greater than DST, depending on the metric with which the problem was analyzed.…”

The unexpected effects of daylight-saving time: Traffic accidents in Mexican municipalities

“…Second, Kellog & Wolf (2008) examine DST in Australia following an exogenous change resulting from the Olympic games and finds that the time change makes no significant difference in the consumption of elec-tricity. Lastly, Hancevic & Margulis (2018) used Argentina's differential practice of DST and found that it generates an average increase of 0.4-0.6% in the consumption of electricity, although it reduces peaks in daily demand. 1…”

“…The rationale remains the same: if daylight is transferred to the hours when light is needed the most, we will need less artificial light and save electricity. However, empirical evidence on whether DST serves to cut down on our consumption of electricity is mixed, as there are cases of a slight increase in consumption, although, at times, there is a decrease in the daily peaks of power used -see, for example, Kellogg and Wolff (2008), Kotchen and Grant (2011), and Hancevic and Margulis (2018), among other relevant studies.…”