According to preliminary figures and estimates from Eurogas, total natural gas consumption in European Union decreased by 10.7% in 2011 in comparison with 2010.
Gas consumption declined as a result of the big variation in weather conditions between 2010 and 2011, and of changes in the relative prices of fuels used in power generation. The initial estimate for 2011 natural gas consumption in the European Union is 5,098 TWh, which is equal to 471 bcm, or 395 Mtoe.
The decrease in demand was most marked in Europe’s largest national market, the UK, where gas consumption fell by almost 18% between 2010 and 2011. The average decline in the rest of Europe was 9%.
At the end of 2011, the total number of gas customers connected to the European Union's natural gas grid had increased by approximately 0.9% in comparison with 2010, to reach 116.8m customers.