Czech gas consumption was lowest since 1992 last year, falling 10.4% year on year

Gas consumption in Czechia was at its lowest since 1992 last year. Czech consumers used a total of 6.76 billion cubic metres of gas over the year, down 10.4% year on year. All groups of consumers cut their gas use last year, with households making the biggest reductions. The vast majority of gas flowed into Czechia via Germany, while around eight percent was apparently from Russia. This is according to statistics from the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ). Electricity and heat consumption also fell last year. Experts say the energy savings were driven primarily by the gradual rise in energy prices, the resulting economic slowdown and warm weather.

“Gas consumption in the final quarter of last year was the lowest for the whole decade. Annual consumption fell to its lowest level in more than three decades,” said Stanislav Trávníček, chair of the ERÚ Council. He noted that gas consumption has been falling steadily since the third quarter of 2021. “That is, since the energy crisis began to take effect,” Trávníček added.

The main reason, he said, is consumers’ efforts to save energy.

According to the office, the reduction in consumption is all the more significant given that gas distribution networks were only beginning to expand in the early 1990s, while the gas system was switching from the former town gas to today’s natural gas.

All groups of consumers contributed to the reduction in consumption last year, according to the statistics. Households made the biggest savings, cutting their consumption by 11.6% year on year. Small and medium-sized consumers also reduced their gas use by more than 10%, while large consumers cut back by 9.6%. Gas consumption was lower year on year in every month of last year.

An overwhelming majority of gas supplies to Czechia—specifically 92%—came across the border from Germany. The gas flowing through Germany is mainly from Norway, along with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Netherlands. The remaining eight percent was imported from Slovakia, with these deliveries concentrated mainly in the final quarter, when the Czech Republic had already filled its storage facilities, according to the office.

Many experts say that gas from Russia flows into Czechia via Slovakia, although some point out that it could be gas held by traders in storage facilities in Ukraine or other countries. In early February, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said the increase in Russian imports towards the end of last year reflected current market developments, but that Czechia remains independent of Russian gas. In the past, supplies from Russia accounted for around 97%.

Gas flows through the domestic gas system also fell substantially last year, according to the ERÚ. Imports into the gas system amounted to 7.83 billion cubic metres of gas last year, a year-on-year decrease of more than 71%. Exports fell by as much as 94.4%, to 1.02 billion cubic metres of gas.