German gas consumption rose by 3.5% last year despite record warm weather

Natural gas consumption in Germany rose by 3.5% year on year to 844 TWh last year. Given the record warm weather and continued high retail prices, consumption among households and services fell by 5%. Industrial consumption, by contrast, increased by around 7%. This is according to information published by the German network regulator BNetzA and the international Argus portal. 

2024 was highly likely to be the warmest year on record. At the same time, retail natural gas prices, despite gradually falling, remained around twice their pre-crisis levels. This was one reason why natural gas consumption among German households and services, which account for 39% of the country’s total natural gas consumption, fell by around 5% year on year.

Industrial consumers, by contrast, increased their natural gas consumption by around 7%, despite stagnant GDP and a continued decline in industrial production. According to the international Argus portal, this was due to a slight recovery in energy-intensive industries and the fact that natural gas prices for industrial consumers fell below those of LPG, a substitute fuel.

Overall, natural gas consumption in Germany rose by 3.5% year on year to 844 TWh last year. However, compared with average consumption in the 2018–2021 period, it was still 14% lower (17% lower for households and services and 12% lower for industry).

Half of imports came from Norway

According to the published preliminary figures, Germany imported 865 TWh of natural gas last year (103 TWh less year on year). The largest suppliers were Norway (48%), the Netherlands (25%) and Belgium (18%). Just under 70 TWh of natural gas was imported in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG therefore accounted for 8% of imports.

The decline in imports also led to a drop in exports, with Germany exporting 98 TWh less natural gas last year than the year before (89 TWh). Most exports went to the Netherlands (34%) and the Czech Republic (33%).

Natural gas production in Germany remained at a similar level to 2023, reaching 36 TWh. This covered only around 4% of the country’s consumption.