The life-supporting role of the electric power industry during the spread of the coronavirus was especially pronounced. Electricity has become necessary for remote education of children, video calls, hospitals, etc. The main trends in electricity demand include changes in the ratio of electricity consumption in industry, transport and commercial sectors, as well as households due to the quarantine of some consumers. The paper identifies key risk-forming factors for the energy industry at the macro level and, based on an expert assessment, identifies the most probable and most powerful risks. By analogy with external risk-forming factors, the internal risk-forming factors of energy companies were analyzed, and their range of internal risks was determined. © 2020 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.