EU gas consumption fell by 7pc on the year in September and was even further below the 2017-21 average, data from Eurostat show.
Across the 27-member bloc, consumption was 7.3pc lower than in September last year, but gas use varied significantly between countries (see September year-on-year graph). Consumption increased on the year in 11 countries while decreasing in 15. The remaining EU state, Cyprus, does not consume gas. Compared with the 2017-21 average for September, EU consumption was down by a much larger 20pc, with the Netherlands, Germany and France all recording reductions of at least 25pc.
Of the five largest consumers in the bloc, consumption decreased most in France at nearly 28pc and was also down in Spain, Germany and Italy, but jumped by 12pc in the Netherlands.
Similar to the previous months this summer, German consumption was 16pc lower on the year despite gas-fired generation jumping by 47pc to 3.6TWh, Fraunhofer data show. These figures suggest that German industrial demand is significantly lower than last year, as there was no reason for domestic heating demand during September.
In percentage terms, Hungarian demand fell the most on the year of any EU state, dropping by 29pc in September, while Finnish consumption increased the most at 82pc.
Despite lower consumption on the year, September still represented a significant recovery in demand compared with the low-point of August, particularly in Italy where gas consumption jumped by more than 17pc (see month-on-month graph). Across the EU, consumption was up by roughly 6pc.
While still low by historical standards, Italian consumption last month was much stronger than in August, when it had been the lowest for any month since Eurostat records began in 2008. Demand grew on the month in the other four top gas-consuming countries, too, rising the most in France at more than 6pc. Consumption also grew by 25pc in Latvia and Sweden.
Consumption well below 2017-21 average
EU consumption in January-September was down by roughly 10pc on the year and by 17pc compared with the 2017-21 average (see cumulative year-on-year graph).
Consumption fell by the most compared with 2022 in Estonia at nearly 22pc, and increased the most in Malta at around 10pc.Of the top five biggest consumers, demand fell by the most in France at 14pc and by the least in the Netherlands at roughly 6pc.
In comparison with the 2017-21 average for January-September, Dutch consumption fell by the most of these five at nearly 28pc, significantly higher than the next highest, France at 18pc.
Dutch demand has been heavily limited this year after production from the largest gas-consuming sector — chemicals and fertilisers — has faltered because of weak demand for those products and strong availability of cheaper imports from abroad. Separately, Latvian consumption fell by the most compared with the five-year average at nearly 43pc, closely followed by other Baltic and Nordic states.
In the months of April-September, the reference period for the REPowerEU 15pc demand reduction target, EU consumption was 16pc below the 2017-21 average for these months, putting the bloc just above its 15pc target. Of the five largest consumers, the Netherlands had by far the largest reduction at 24pc, with Spain having the lowest at 8pc.
