Gas consumption in Germany down by five percent overall
Germany saved a lot of gas last year: gas consumption fell by five percent overall compared to the previous year thanks to warmer temperatures, as the Federal Network Agency announced on Thursday. Around 41 percent of consumption was accounted for by households and businesses, 59 percent by industry.
Compared to average consumption in the years 2018 to 2021, natural gas consumption even fell by 17.5 percent. Private households and commercial enterprises saved 16.4%. According to the Network Agency, consumption in industry fell by 18.3% compared to previous years.
One important reason for the lower consumption was the warmer temperatures: in 2023, temperatures were on average 0.58 degrees Celsius higher than the average for 2018 to 2021.
The agency has also already presented an interim assessment of the current winter half-year: In the months of October to December 2023, gas consumption by industry was 16 percent below the average consumption for the years 2018 to 2021, while consumption by households and businesses was 16.7 percent lower. Temperatures also played a major role here: they were 1.5 degrees Celsius higher in October, 0.3 degrees Celsius higher in November and 0.8 degrees Celsius higher in December than the monthly average for 2018 to 2021.
Germany has to import more than 90 percent of its natural gas. According to the Network Agency, this amounted to a total of 968 terawatt hours last year (one terawatt hour is one billion kilowatt hours). 43 percent came from Norway, 26 percent from the Netherlands and 22 percent from Belgium.
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The five percent decrease in gas consumption in Germany was recorded in the year under review. Moreover, natural gas consumption by industry specifically dropped by 18.3% in that same year, represented in percentages.
Source: www.ntv.de
