Bulgaria has Managed to Reduce Gas Demand by a record 24%

Bulgaria has reduced its consumption of natural gas by almost a quarter in the last six months, announced the European Commission.

A report released on Monday stated that between August 2022 and January 2023, natural gas consumption in Bulgaria decreased by 23.9% compared to the average levels of the last five years. The biggest economy was registered in October, when consumption was 32.7% and in January - 29.4%.

The only month when Sofia deviated from the voluntary measures to reduce gas consumption introduced by the EU for 15% savings was August - 14.9% less.

Last summer, the European Commission proposed, and member states agreed, to introduce measures for 15% voluntary savings on natural gas consumption to get through the winter if Russia permanently stops supplying Europe with the fuel.

For the past six months, most countries have managed. Most impressive: Finland, where natural gas consumption fell by 58.5%, Lithuania - 40.5%, and Sweden - 40.2%.

Five countries failed to reach the European target of 15% - Ireland (down 0.3%), Slovakia (-4.6%), Malta (-12.1%), Spain (-13.7%) and Slovenia (-14.2%).

In general, the EU managed to reduce gas demand by 19%, or by 41.5 billion cubic meters, from August to January, compared to the previous five years.

Households saved more than businesses

Eurostat's sectoral analysis shows that between August and December 2022, the reduction in gas consumption in households was around 50% and in industry - 43%. The performance of the power sector contributed only 7% to the overall reduction in gas demand due to low availability of hydropower and nuclear capacity.

Industry is responsible for most of the fall in demand in summer and fall, while households...