Electricity consumption in the EU has clearly become disconnected from economic growth since the start of the decade, according to the European Commission’s latest quarterly reports on the gas and electricity markets, published on Tuesday 27 March. EU28 GDP increased by 11.6% between 2010 and the end of 2017 while, over the same period, electricity consumption decreased by 4%, signalling an improving energy intensity in the EU economy.
The electricity report also highlights that in December 2017 more energy from wind was generated in the EU than ever before – 41 terawatt hours, equivalent to 16% of the EU’s electricity mix.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, wholesale electricity prices in the EU were generally higher compared with the previous quarter as a result of higher seasonal demand at the beginning of the winter period and increasing use of fossil fuels in power generation, as significant nuclear capacities were taken out of use in France, either due to maintenance works or to safety inspections.
Retail electricity prices for household customers were also up by almost 5% in December 2017 in EU capital cities on average in a year-on-year comparison, primarily owing to increased energy supply costs, reflecting the evolution of wholesale electricity prices.
The gas market report shows that, despite a slight year-on-year decrease in the last quarter of the year, in 2017 EU gas consumption was 491 billion cubic metres, 6% more than in 2016 and the highest level since 2010.
The Commission notes that, in December, Europe received its first cargo from Novatek’s new Yamal LNG (liquefied natural gas) facility, the first time a company other than Gazprom had supplied Russian gas to the EU.
Furthermore, the report points out that although high prices in Asia driven by surging Chinese demand made Europe a less attractive destination for LNG supplies, EU LNG imports increased by 16% year-on-year in the last quarter of 2017.
An explosion at the Baumgarten hub in Austria, coupled with a disruption of the Forties pipeline system in the UK, sent European hub prices soaring in mid-December but the outage was quickly resolved. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)