Gas consumption fell significantly in October, mainly due to the warm weather, and was more than a quarter lower than the year before. Electricity consumption also fell sharply and was nine percent below the value of the same month last year. Electricity generation has increased, with hydropower in particular showing a strong increase. The gas storage level has been further increased. In total, at 5.87 terawatt hours (TWh), approximately 2 TWh or 26.1 percent less gas was sold in October 2022 than in the same month of the previous year.
According to E-Control, this is mainly due to the relatively high temperatures. The so-called heating degree days – the sum of the difference between the outside air temperature and the desired indoor air temperature of 20 degrees – were 79.2 in October 2022, well below last year’s result of 235.3.
Domestic gas production (including the injection of biogenic gases) fell by about a quarter (24.8 percent) to 0.54 TWh.
The relatively high temperatures also had a positive impact on Austrian gas storage facilities. In October 2022, about 13 TWh net was stored, compared to about 2.8 TWh in the same month last year. At the end of the month, the storage capacity was about 89 TWh, 66.1 percent more than last year.
Domestic electricity consumption (excluding consumption for pumped storage) was 5.43 TWh, a decrease of 9 percent compared to the same month last year. Electricity production increased by 2.4 percent to 5.3 TWh. Thanks to better generation options, the hydropower plants produced 0.46 TWh or 18.5 percent more electrical energy than last year. Wind turbines fell by 30.8 percent to about 0.46 TWh.
Electricity exports increased by four percent
In the physical exchange of electricity with neighboring countries, imports fell by 23.1 percent. Electricity exports increased by four percent.
In the case of gas, physical imports from neighboring countries were some 25.3 TWh, 10.4 TWh or 29.1 percent below the comparable value of the previous year. At the same time, less gas was exported and physical exports fell by 72.5 percent to 7 TWh. This results in an import balance of approximately 18.4 TWh for October 2022, which was approximately 78 percent above the comparable value of the previous year.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
