Significant surge in gas consumption observed in March, leaving storage supplies nearly depleted
🔗 Heads-up: Here's a rundown on Austria's energy consumption in March 2025, focusing on electricity and gas.
🌐 Gas Consumption Up, Storage Levels Down: The Austrian population saw a considerable increase in gas consumption in March 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, due mainly to the chillier temperatures that raised heating demand. As a result, gas storage levels plummeted, closing the month at around 43.56 TWh, representing a startling 39.8% drop from the previous year.
🌊 Swiftly Depleting Storage: The steep rise in gas consumption led to the rapid depletion of storage facilities. By the end of March 2025, an eye-popping 8.36 TWh of gas was withdrawn, a whopping 50.1% surge compared to the same period in 2024. Conversely, only 1.6 TWh was added to storage facilities, a paltry 4.4% increase compared to the prior year's March.
📉 Gas Price Skyrockets: With the soaring demand and dwindling supply, gas prices hit a two-year high in March 2025, accelerating the depletion of storage facilities.
💸 Fewer Imported and Exported Gas: The depletion of gas from storage resulted in a 31.4% reduction in gas imports, down to 8.18 TWh. Likewise, gas exports decreased by 27.6%, amounting to 7.05 TWh.
💡 Electricity Consumption Soars: The appetite for electricity surged in March 2025, growing by 5.2%. Total electricity consumption reached 5.9 TWh.
🌧 Electricity Generation Dwindles: The surge in electricity consumption was met by a 10.5% drop in electricity generation, tumbling down to 5.9 TWh. Run-of-river power plants spewed out a staggering 37.4% less electricity, as the generation coefficient plummeted from 1.07 in the previous year to 0.64. Pumped storage power plants suffered too, producing 21.3% less electricity.
🌞 Photovoltaic Panels Shine: The only bright spot amidst the electricity generation woes was photovoltaic power plants, which boasted a robust 41.9% increase in production. These solar power titans accounted for a 14% share of the total electricity produced, amounting to 0.83 TWh.
- The finance sector in Austria had to adapt to the surge in energy consumption in March 2025, particularly in the renewable-energy industry, as the demand for electricity rose by 5.2%.
- Despite the soaring electricity consumption, electricity generation from run-of-river and pumped storage power plants decreased significantly, with a 10.5% drop observed in total electricity generation.
- In a remarkable turn of events, photovoltaic power plants bucked the downward trend, pumping out a 41.9% increase in electricity production, accounting for 14% of the total electricity produced in Austria during March 2025.
- The Austrian government and the renewable-energy industry are now looking at ways to augment electricity production to meet the increased consumption, addressing the shortfall that was evident in March 2025.
- The depletion of gas storage in Austria during March 2025, due to increased consumption and cooler temperatures, had a ripple effect on the energy market, leading to a surge in gas prices and a drop in gas imports and exports.
