EU Gas Use Falls for Fourth Year Running

摘要

EU gas use fell for the fourth year in a row in 2014, crashing to its lowest in nearly two decades. Estimates from gas industry association Eurogas released last week show that consumption by the 28 EU members slumped 11% year-on-year to 409 billion cubic meters (39.6 billion cubic feet per day) (WGI Mar.26' 14). And unlike previous years, every single EU state using gas registered a decline. Eurogas blamed the performance partly on weather. Last year was exceptionally warm - the warmest in German, French and Dutch recorded history - which "considerably reduced" demand for gas in heating, especially in homes (WGI Jan.28'15). By comparison, the first quarter of 2013 was colder than average.