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Demand for gas falls by 6% in August, says CSO

Warmer weather in August than same time previous year contributed to fall

SELBY, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: An aerial view of Drax Bio mass Power Station operated by Drax Group PLC on November 06, 2024 in Selby, England. Once one of the largest coal power plants in Europe, the Drax power station in North Yorkshire now generates electricity by burning wood pellets sourced from trees in North America. The UK government is expected to unveil new plans to further cut greenhouse gas emissions, during the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
SELBY, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: An aerial view of Drax Bio mass Power Station operated by Drax Group PLC on November 06, 2024 in Selby, England. Once one of the largest coal power plants in Europe, the Drax power station in North Yorkshire now generates electricity by burning wood pellets sourced from trees in North America. The UK government is expected to unveil new plans to further cut greenhouse gas emissions, during the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Fiona Keeley
Thu Nov 07 2024 - 17:41

Demand for gas in Ireland fell by 6 per cent overall in August this year, compared to the same month in 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said..

The CSO said a warmer August than the previous year contributed to the reduction in demand for gas. .

Deirdre Moran, statistician with the climate and energy division of the CSO, said total demand for gas fell to 3,517 gigawatt hours (GWh) in August 2024, 6 per cent lower than the 3,732 GWh figure seen in August 2023.

Gas consumption by non-daily metered customers, such as small to medium companies and residential consumers, dropped 5 per cent in August 2024, compared to the same month the previous year. Power plants around Ireland also reduced their demand for gas by 7 per cent over the same period.

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Ms Moran said demand for gas reached its lowest monthly point on August 4th, 2024 with a daily demand of 77 GWh. She said demand was at its highest towards the end of the month on August 30th, 2024, with a demand of 168 GWh across the network.

Imported gas accounted for 73 per cent of Ireland’s total gas supply in August 2024 with gas from the Corrib gas field and biomethane plants accounting for the remaining 27 per cent.

In total, 2,567 gigawatt hours (GWh) of gas was imported this August, compared to 2,994 GWhthe previous August.

Production of gas from the Corrib gas field has risen compared to last year as 950 GWh of gas came from indigenous sources in August 2024 while 737 GWh was sourced from there in August 2023. This may be partly due to the fact the Corrib gas field was closed for maintenance for part of August 2023.

Across the first eight months of 2024, gas imports decreased by 2.3 per cent and indigenous gas production was down 3.1 per cent compared with the same period in 2023. From a power plant point of view, gas demand decreased by 7.2 per cent when comparing the continuous 12-month period between September 2023 - August 2024 with September 2022 – August 2023.

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