Tracking electricity losses and their perceived causes using nighttime light and social media.

Samuel W Kerber, Nicholas A Duncan, Guillaume F L'Her, Morgan Bazilian, Chris Elvidge, Mark R Deinert

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Satellite imagery reveals increasing volatility in human night-time activity.Nature · 2026
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Samuel W KerberDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80402, USA.

Nicholas A DuncanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80402, USA.

Guillaume F L'HerDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80402, USA.

Morgan BazilianPayne Institute for Public Policy, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80402, USA.

Chris ElvidgePayne Institute for Public Policy, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80402, USA.

Mark R DeinertDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80402, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Urban environments are intricate systems where the breakdown of critical infrastructure can impact both the economic and social well-being of communities. Electricity systems hold particular significance, as they are essential for othe infrastructure, and disruptions can trigger widespread consequences. Typically, assessing electricity availability requires ground-level data, a challenge in conflict zones and regions with limited access. This study shows how satellite imagery, social media, and information extraction can monitor blackouts and their perceived causes. Nighttime light data (in March 2019 for Caracas, Venezuela) are used to indicate blackout regions. Twitter data are used to determine sentiment and topic trends, while statistical analysis and topic modeling delved into public perceptions regarding blackout causes. The findings show an inverse relationship between nighttime light intensity and Twitter activity. Tweets mentioning the Venezuelan President displayed heightened negativity and a greater prevalence of blame-related terms, suggesting a perception of government accountability for the outages.

Indexed as

Energy managementEnergy policyEnergy resourcesEnergy systems

Identifiers

PMID38034353

DOI10.1016/j.isci.2023.108381

PMCPMC10687289

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.