In 2023, the French have never consumed so little gas.
“French gas consumption falls by 11.4% in 2023 and falls below 400 TWh, reflecting new behaviors in terms of sobriety and uses,” indicates the manager of the French gas transport network in a press release. this Tuesday.
National gas consumption in 2023 (individuals, businesses, large industrialists and for power plants) stood at 381 TWh (compared to 430 TWh in 2022 and 474 TWh in 2021), a level which had not been seen since. the 1990s while the peak in consumption dates back to 2010 with 547 TWh of gas consumed.
This movement of decreasing gas consumption has accelerated considerably.
In two years, over 2021-2023, gas consumption will have fallen by 20%, a drop described as “historic” by the transport network.
A decline similar to that observed between 2021 and 2022
The trend observed since 2021 and the start of the increase in gas prices, driven by the post-pandemic economic recovery, was confirmed in 2023, “despite a stabilization of gas prices in Europe and a return to their levels pre-war in Ukraine,” adds GRTgaz.
The average price of gas on the markets according to the Dutch TTF index - considered the European benchmark for gas - currently stands at 22 euros per MWh, half as much as in 2023 (43 euros) and 5.5 times and a half less than during the year 2022 (121 euros) marked by an unprecedented surge after the war in Ukraine and the drastic reduction in supplies from Moscow to Europe.
In detail, consumption of public distribution (households, tertiary, small industry) fell by 6.5% in 2023 compared to 2022, to 253 TWh, in climate-corrected data.
A decline similar to that observed between 2021 and 2022 (-6.2%).
The causes of this drop in consumption are multiple, such as a milder climate or better energy efficiency of the materials used.
But above all it seems that there has been a change in consumer behavior, both individuals and businesses.
Consumption by large energy-intensive industrial customers (chemicals, glass, etc.) fell by 7.4% to 103.8 TWh, after a drop of 11.5% in 2022. Since 2021, the drop has been 18.2%. , reflecting the fact that certain manufacturers, with the rise in prices, have “stopped industrial processes” or converted to “other types of energy” such as electricity, according to GRTgaz.