In a remarkable turn of events, the Czech Republic’s gas consumption in 2021 fell to its lowest level since 1994. The year-on-year natural gas consumption dropped by seven percent, totaling 7.1 billion cubic meters. A significantly lower demand for electricity from gas power plants and a continuing decrease in household and industry consumption largely contributed to this decline.
Interestingly, this decrease in gas consumption led to reduced gas imports into the Czech Republic, coupled with high tank capacity. This information arises from an analysis by the consulting company EGÚ Brno, which was provided to ČTK, a Czech news agency.
In 2021, the Czech Republic received 7.4 billion cubic meters of gas, while less than a billion cubic meters were exported. This starkly contrasted with 2021, which saw six times more gas flowing through the Czech Republic than last year.
A significant portion of gas to the Czech Republic was routed through Germany from Norway and from liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on the North Sea coast, from Belgium, the Netherlands, or Germany. Starting in October, Russian gas purchased from the Slovak or Austrian markets also began to flow into the Czech Republic.
In conclusion, the overall share of this Russian gas amounted to roughly seven percent of the total annual domestic consumption. This shift in gas consumption patterns presents an interesting perspective on the changing energy dynamics in the Czech Republic.