Abstract. The exogenous shock of the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the restructuring of the global energy balance and energy markets. The epicenter of energy transit is the transformation of the electric power industry, which in turn reflects changes in the economy and lifestyle. The outstripping development of new renewable energy sources, although very uneven across countries and regions, is ending the era of thermal coal and opening up some opportunities for natural gas. Shifts in transport mobility and massive digitalization of business models across all industries and sectors of the economy have brought the peaks of global oil demand closer. The mainstream of economic policy in many countries has become the accelerated promotion of the imperatives of the low-carbon paradigm in order to minimize the damage from burning fossil fuels to the natural environment and public health.