In the middle of the energy crisis, the gas consumption of the Germans is still increasing far too much. In the case of private households and smaller commercial customers, it was recently almost 10 percent higher than in the four previous years. Germany must save at least 20 percent in order to get through the winter well.
Apparently, the federal government’s appeals to save gas are not yet having an effect on many consumers. The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, warned in Bonn on Thursday: “Gas consumption increased too much last week.” According to figures from the supervisory authority, gas consumption by private households and smaller commercial customers in the 39th calendar week was almost 618 gigawatt hours 10 percent above the average consumption level for the years 2018 to 2021.
According to the Federal Network Agency, consumption by industrial customers last week was just over 2 percent below the level of previous years at 1,370 gigawatt hours. A factor that could also influence this development is the significantly colder September. With an average temperature of 13.4 degrees, September this year was two degrees cooler than a year ago, according to the German Weather Service.
Germany will hardly be able to avoid a gas emergency in winter without at least 20 percent savings in the private, commercial and industrial sectors, emphasized Müller. “The situation can become very serious if we don’t significantly reduce our gas consumption.” Private households and smaller commercial customers are responsible for around 40 percent of gas consumption in Germany. The remaining 60 percent are accounted for by large industrial customers.
