European natural gas demand will slump next year as high prices drive nations to enact energy-saving measures amid Russian supply curtailments, according to the International Energy Agency, APA-Economics reports citing Yahoo.
High gas prices will result in European consumption falling by 4% in 2023 after slumping by a record 10% this year, the IEA said in a quarterly gas report. Declines are most pronounced in the industrial sector, but are also evident in power generation, pushing global gas demand down by 0.8% this year.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sharp reductions in natural gas supplies to Europe are causing significant harm to consumers, businesses and entire economies – not just in Europe but also in emerging and developing economies,” Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA’s director of energy markets and security, said in the report.
The EU is taking measures to tackle the worst energy crisis in decades, escalated by severely reduced flows from Moscow, once the biggest gas supplier to the region. Europeans face a cold winter as surging natural gas prices have sent power bills soaring.The EU has urged for a voluntary reduction in gas demand by 15% compared to its five-year average.
If demand is not curbed, the region’s storage sites will dip to a critically low level of 5% in February if Russian pipeline flows completely stop from Nov. 1, the IEA estimates. Such low inventories could create disruptions if there is a late winter cold snap.
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