France’s gas consumption in 2023 fell by more than 11 per cent year-on-year and by around 20 per cent compared to 2021, France’s main gas transmission operator GRTgaz reported on Tuesday.
French gas use in 2023 totalled 381 TWh, down 11.4 per cent from 2022 (430 TWh) and 20 per cent from 2021 (474 TWh). In 2010, the peak consumption figure was 547 TWh.
Industry was one of the major drivers of the decline, with consumption falling by 18.2 per cent as a result of changes in industrial activities, energy efficiency efforts and energy substitution. Some processes had to be stopped as prices were too high in recent years, according to GRTGaz. CEO Sandrine Meunier declared:
Over the period 2024-2025, we expect gas consumption in France to remain stable […] We don’t expect gas consumption to fall any further in the coming years. In 2023, the European gas system will consolidate and adapt to the drop in flows from Russia.
Between 2022 and 2023, LNG deliveries rose from 35 per cent to 41 per cent of total European gas supplies, marking a clear decline in supplies from Russian pipelines, accounting for just 8 per cent of supplies, compared to 18 per cent in 2022 and 41 per cent before the war in Ukraine.
Together, LNG and Russian pipeline gas still account for about 15 per cent of EU supplies.
