Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has published the country’s gas supply figures for 2022. According to the energy regulator, Germany consumed an average of 847.5 TWh of gas in 2022, which represents a 17.6% decrease compared to 2021 (1,029 TWh). Household and commercial customer consumption accounted for around 41% and industrial consumption accounted for nearly 59%. Compared to the average consumption over the past four years, natural gas consumption fell by 14% in 2022: industrial consumption decreased by 15% and private households and commercial enterprises consumption fell by 12%.
The reduction and gas consumption can be explained by higher temperatures in 2022 and dwindling gas supplies from Russia due to the situation in Ukraine. A total of 1,449 TWh of natural gas were imported into Germany in 2022 (1,652 TWh in 2021, or a 12.3% decrease), with the largest volumes coming from Norway (33%) and Russia with 22% (52% in 2021). While around 1.7 TWh of Russian gas was delivered daily via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline until mid-June 2022, deliveries fell by 60%, then by 80% and finally fell to 0 TWh at the beginning of September 2022. The lack of gas supplies from Russia was partially compensated by additional imports from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Germany exported around 501 TWh of natural gas in 2022 (749 TWh in 2021). As a result, at 948 TWh, more natural gas was available in Germany in 2022 than in 2021 (902 TWh).
Wholesale gas prices reached their provisional peak at the end of August at €315.9/MWh on the EEX energy exchange. They were about four times as high as before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. By 1 November 2022, prices fell significantly again and reached €22.4/MWh, the lowest level of the year. At the end of December 2022, the wholesale price was €63.8/MWh.