Our gas consumption will fall further this year than in the previous turbulent gas year. In 2022, the number of cubic meters of gas in Amsterdam and the surrounding area fell by 15 percent compared to the previous years. This year, that percentage will increase to 19. This is evident from the forecast of grid managers Liander and Stedin.
According to a Liander spokesperson, an explanation for this further decrease cannot be given from the consumption data of the energy companies. An important reason for saving on gas was the record price for a cubic meter last year. The gas price now seems to be somewhat more under control, but Liander still calculates further savings on gas.
“We only measure consumption. We don’t know why less gas is consumed,” says Liander. There may be a financial reason for this, or the desire to live more sustainably, or to be less dependent on Putin. It is interesting to know that reason, but we are not investigating that.”
To spare
Last year, Liander noted that gas consumption fell by 15 percent compared to the average of previous years. Now, for the first time, the figures from grid manager Stedin have also been included for the municipalities of Aalsmeer, Amstelveen, Beverwijk, Bloemendaal, Heemskerk, Heemstede, Ouder-Amstel, Uitgeest, Uithoorn and Zandvoort.
And with that, the figures for all 30 municipalities in the entire Amsterdam Metropolitan Area are complete for the first time. This new group of municipalities includes a number of participants where relatively large savings are made on gas, as shown in the table below. Uitgeest and Heemskerk, for example, stand out here.
Below is an overview of the municipalities and how much small consumers in the Metropolitan Region (households and small businesses) will save according to the forecast. Uitgeest and Landsmeer score the best. Amsterdam and Almere relatively least.
Liander cannot explain these differences between the municipalities. “In any case, there is no technical reason for that.” According to the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the share of old buildings in a municipality may play a role, or the fact that, for example, a city such as Almere already has many houses that are not connected to the gas network. Then there is relatively little more to save.
Hospitals
We do not deliver the greatest savings at home, but at work. The so-called gas millionaires (market gardeners, hospitals and large companies) consume almost a quarter less gas compared to the average from 2018 to 2021. Larger companies also save more by 21 percent. Small consumers average 17 percent. Collectively, this means a decrease of 19 percent.
Data on natural gas consumption by energy-intensive industry (such as Tata Steel and the gas-fired power station in Diemen) are not included in Liander’s figures. The companies have a direct natural gas connection to the Gasunie network.