Electricity consumption for the Russian economy: Does smart grid matter?

Russia has one of the highest levels of electricity consumption both per unit of GDP and per capita globally. This study quantifies the degree to which electricity consumption is influenced by population, personal income, industrial production, and other factors, utilising multiple regression of historical data from across the federal subjects of the Russian Federation from 2011 to 2016. We model regional-level electricity consumption to estimate the total electricity demand in each region. Implementation of smart grids must play an influential role in boosting energy efficiency and reduction of energy waste both for households and manufacturing processes. The motivation of our study is to try to answer three research questions, related to each other. First, what is the basic model to predict electricity consumption in Russian regions? Second, how to value smart grid penetration in Russian regions? The third, is there any statistically significant impact of smart grid implementation on electricity consumption? We utilise a sectoral approach, to assess the effect on a regional level and at a sectoral level as well. Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.