Electricity and gas consumption in Czechia continue to fall, with weather now the main cause

Electricity and gas consumption in Czechia continue to fall. In the first five months of this year, Czechs cut electricity use by three percent year on year to 24.8 terawatt-hours (TWh). They reduced gas consumption even more sharply, by eight percent year on year to 35 TWh. The figures come from statistics published by the Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ). The main reason for this year’s decline is warmer weather.

This year began with a broad-based increase in energy consumption. In January, electricity consumption rose by five percent year on year, while gas use increased by around 17 percent. The reason was cold weather during the first month of the year. In the following months, consumption gradually fell, including in year-on-year comparisons. Once again, the reason was the weather, which was warmer than the average temperatures.

Energy consumption in Czechia has been falling for two years. In addition to the weather, higher energy prices also contributed significantly to the decline over the previous two years. Savings were evident across all customer categories.

Electricity consumption last year was the lowest in 14 years. Net consumption totalled 57.8 TWh, down 4.1 percent year on year. Gas consumption in Czechia was even at its lowest level since 1992. Czechs consumed 6.76 billion cubic metres of gas over the year, down 10.4 percent year on year.