Last year’s gas consumption in the Czech Republic was the lowest in the previous eight years, the Energy Regulatory Office (ERU) said. The Czech Republic consumed 7.54 billion cubic meters of water, a fifth less than the previous year. In the long run, the drop is 16.5 percent. Consumption fell the most (by a third) last May.
“Overall, consumption was the lowest in eight years. If we convert it into a temperature average, it was even the lowest since 2001, when the ERO started keeping statistics on the operation of the gas system,” said Stanislav Trávníček, chairman of the ERO board.
Warm weather also impacted the lower gas consumption, as the temperature was about 0.9 °C above the long-term normal.
According to the ERO, almost half of the savings were made by large consumers and a quarter by households. Gas imports fell by nearly 41 percent year-on-year.
“In addition to falling consumption, the state of domestic gas storage is also worth noting. While in December 2021, stocks amounted to 49.1 percent of total storage capacity, by the end of 2022, they had almost doubled to 85.2 percent. The record was set at the beginning of winter when the storage facilities were virtually 100 percent full,” Trávníček added.
Interim data show that the increase in stocks continues this year. As of February 22, domestic storage capacity was 62.5 percent full, compared to only 21.5 percent at the same time last year, and it rose to 13 percent during the winter season.