Germany is trying to save energy - and is even doing so successfully, as data shows. But the time of mild temperatures is over for the time being. This is also reflected in gas consumption, especially in households.
Winter temperatures caused gas consumption in Germany to rise significantly in November. This is shown by the new data from the Federal Network Agency on the gas supply situation in Germany. Accordingly, the total consumption in calendar week 46 (November 14 to 20) averaged 2686 gigawatt hours per day. That means an increase of 28 percent compared to the previous week. After deducting industrial customers - i.e. in relation to households and businesses - the increase even amounts to 49 percent.
Note on the graphics: You can use the drop-down menu to call up and compare the total consumption as well as the consumption of industrial and household customers.
Nevertheless, total consumption is still well below the long-term average: in the past week, Germans managed to use a good 20 percent less gas than in previous years at this time. This corresponds to the savings target issued by the Federal Network Agency, which is intended to prevent a gas shortage.
In the previous weeks, gas consumption had already been below the empirical values of previous years. Here, however, it was above all the unusually mild weather conditions that made it possible to save on heating. At times, consumption in October was even a good 36 percent below the comparative values of the four previous years. After the cold snap in November, this cannot be continued. However, households still seem to be making efforts to use less gas.
Industry is also successful in its efforts to save. According to a recently published survey by the IFO Institute, in most cases this is even possible without any loss of production. Three quarters of the companies surveyed stated that they were able to save gas in the last six months without cutting back on production. On the other hand, 14 percent of the processing companies were only able to continue with limited operations.
