Ranjitha Shivaram | E-IPER Dissertation Defense

ABSTRACT
Many stressors – the rapid adoption of hybrid work patterns, the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events and resulting power outages – have the potential to affect our energy systems even as we navigate the clean energy transition. Using data-driven analysis and modelling of both primary and secondary datasets, I explore the influence of these stressors on energy systems at the household level, paying particular attention to how their impacts can vary for different sections of society. In my first chapter, I model the impacts of hybrid work on building and transportation energy use in urban areas by developing an analytical framework and a case study focused on the San Francisco Bay Area. In my second chapter, I quantify how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted household resource consumption in the U.S through deploying a nationwide survey and the analysis of collected data. In my third and fourth chapters, I explore the socioeconomic inequities of power outages due to extreme weather events using a survey of households in Texas and Louisiana in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Ida respectively. Throughout these research projects, I offer key insights for public, private, and non-profit stakeholders who are invested in ensuring an inclusive and equitable clean energy transition.