According to preliminary statistics released by the European gas association Eurogas, gas demand in the European Union fell by more than 11% in 2014, due to warmer temperatures reducing gas demand for heat production and end-user heating. 2014 was the warmest year in the Netherlands and in Germany (in recorded history) and the warmest in 50 years in the Czech Republic, while the 2013 winter was colder than average. Gas demand was also impacted by cheap coal and low CO2 prices, that prompted the power sector to prefer coal over gas for power generation. Finally, the sluggish economic situation continued to limit gas demand and gas-fired electricity consumption in the industrial sector.
Gas consumption declined in all gas-consuming European countries and fell dramatically in France (-16.3%), Germany (-12.6%), Italy (-11.6%), the United Kingdom (-9.1%) and Belgium (-12.5%). In Turkey, gas consumption continued to follow an upward trend and rose by 7% in 2014.