In the midst of the energy crisis, gas consumption in Germany is of great interest. In the following article, we will show you how much gas industrial customers are currently using and saving. In addition, you will also find out whether the energy saving target could be met. You can read this and other information on the subject here at news.de.
According to the Federal Network Agency, around 60 percent of the gas consumption in Germany to industrial customers. Private households and small commercial customers are responsible for the remaining 40 percent.
This article tells you how much natural gas Industrial customers with a gas consumption of around 1,500,000 kWh. These customers usually have a gas power meter. One also speaks of a registering performance measurement, which is why these industrial consumers are also referred to as RLM customers. Here we show you how much these customers used and how much gas was saved in this sector compared to the average consumption of previous years.
Gas consumption in industry: What is the gas used for?
Natural gas is one of the most important energy sources for industry in Germany. This is used here for specialized processes, such as melting, annealing, hardening, forming or drying, and is often used in sectors such as the metal, cement, glass, food and textile industries. Steel and iron production are the most energy-intensive branches of industry, but the paper and chemical industries consume even more gas.
However, electricity is also partly generated in industry from natural gas, for example where gas is used as a fuel, such as in pure gas turbine power plants.
Gas consumption per month in Germany: This is consumed by industry
The gas consumption of industrial customers per month is shown in the table below and represents the gas consumption as a monthly average in gigawatt hours per day. These include consumers from industry and commerce who have an annual consumption of more than 1.5 GWh. The accounting data from around 40,000 customers is evaluated here. Gas consumption for power generation is also included in the results.
| Month | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Average consumption 2018-2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2162 GWh | 1952 GWh | 1589 GWh | 2045 GWh |
| February | 2125 GWh | 1794 GWh | 1651 GWh | 2019 GWh |
| March | 1928 GWh | 1733 GWh | 1488 GWh | 1812 GWh |
| April | 1752 GWh | 1442 GWh | 1499 GWh | |
| May | 1448 GWh | 1199 GWh | 1359 GWh | |
| June | 1302 GWh | 1106 GWh | 1285 GWh | |
| July | 1240 GWh | 1008 GWh | 1283 GWh | |
| August | 1159 GWh | 973 GWh | 1247 GWh | |
| September | 1271 GWh | 1058 GWh | 1352 GWh | |
| October | 1450 GWh | 1133 GWh | 1561 GWh | |
| November | 1876 GWh | 1374 GWh | 1876 GWh | |
| December | 1904 GWh | 1592 GWh | 1879 GWh |
How is industry reducing its gas consumption?
Gas consumption in industry is being reduced by a triad of measures: On the one hand, production is falling, especially in energy-intensive sectors such as the chemical and glass industries. On the other hand, industries are trying to implement a short-term change in raw materials and fuels. As an energy source, attempts are sometimes made to minimize gas consumption for electricity generation by working with renewable energies, but there is also an increasing switch back to coal or oil. This is not a permanent solution, as gas was originally intended to be the transitional solution from these energy sources until the switch to green hydrogen, because the phase-out of coal is approaching and oil is harmful to the environment. Recently, other efficiency measures such as shift work will be introduced to reduce gas consumption.
Change in gas consumption among industrial customers compared to average consumption in the years 2018-2021
You can read here how much gas could be saved monthly in industry in percentage terms in 2022 compared to previous years:
- January: -4.5%
- February: -11.1%
- March: -4.4%
- April: -3,8%
- May: -11.8%
- June: -13.9%
- July: -21.4%
- August: -22%
- September: -21,7%
- October: -27.4%
- November: -26,8%
- December: -15.3%
For a detailed breakdown of Gas consumption in private households and temperature conditions, you can get more information from this article.
Will Germany achieve the savings target of 20% in gas consumption?
In order to avoid a gas emergency in winter, 20 percent of gas consumption must be saved. So far, industrial customers have consumed on average 14% less than in the previous years 2018 to 2021. In the households it was 0% fewer. Overall, Germany is currently saving around 14% gas on. So the savings target was missed.
By the way: How about the Level of gas storage in Germany and Europe is ordered, you can find out in this article from us.
How is the data on gas consumption in Germany determined?
The Federal Network Agency provides updated data on the consumption of natural gas in Germany at regular intervals. It obtains the data from the organization Trading Hub Europe (THE), which in turn collects consumption from end users from industry, commerce and private households.
A distinction is made here between large-scale consumers from industry, the so-called RLM customers, who automatically report their data via the registering service entry (RLM) from a certain consumption level. On the other hand, there are small businesses and private households with a so-called standard load profile (SLP). In the case of the latter, gas consumption depends heavily on the outside temperature, since gas is the preferred heating medium here.
The table data can change retrospectively depending on the final billing and is updated every Thursday by the Federal Network Agency.
We will tell you here how you can also save energy costs for electricity and heating.
You can read more information about current maintenance work at German gas storage locations in this article, which is updated daily.
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+++ Editorial note: This text was created automatically based on current data from the Federal Network Agency on current gas consumption. If you have any comments or questions, please contact [email protected]. +++
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