In 2022, households and SMEs consumed 81.7 terawatt hours (TWh) of natural gas, a decrease of 19.74 percent compared to a year earlier (101.8 TWh). According to Fluxys, the figures do not take temperature differences into account. Nevertheless, the gas network operator points out that gas consumption between August 2022 and December 2022 was significantly lower than in previous years at the same temperatures. “This is probably due to the behavior of consumers, who lowered the thermostat and/or used less hot water,” it sounds.
Natural gas consumption also fell sharply in industry, which according to Fluxys is due to “a more difficult economic situation due to the evolution of prices”. Consumption fell by 16.5 percent, from 46.6 terawatt hours in 2021 to 38.9 terawatt hours last year.
Natural gas prices rose to unprecedented heights last year because of the war in Ukraine and the related halt in gas supplies by Russia. As a result, the number of operations with ships with liquefied natural gas LNG in the Fluxys terminal in Zeebrugge also increased sharply, it was announced on Wednesday. In 2022 there were 321 operations, compared to 181 in 2021. The unloading operations tripled last year.