Demand for gas dropped by 7 per cent in 2023 compared with the previous year, reaching the lowest level since 2015, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Demand for gas decreased across all sectors of the economy during the year, it said on Wednesday.
The largest decrease was in the residential sector which fell by 10 per cent compared to the previous year. In non-residential spaces, demand fell by 5 per cent, while in power plants it dropped by 5 per cent.
The total amount of gas consumed last year amounted to 52,575 gigawatt hours across all sectors of the economy, statistician Kevin Hunt said.
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The majority of gas used, some 65 per cent, was for power plants at 34,063 gWh. Houses made up 11 per cent of the demand at 5,981 gWh while the remaining 24 per cent went to non-residential spaces such as commercial properties recording 12,531 gWh.
The median household demand for gas across the State was 7,544 kilowatt hours, a figure that excluded counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo as they are not connected to the gas network system. This was the lowest figure recorded since 2014.
Excluding Dublin, the highest median residential figure for gas demand was in Co Cavan at 8,706kWh while the lowest was in Co Waterford at 6,016kWh. Dublin 06W had the highest residential gas figure in the capital at 9,201 kWh while Dublin 2 recorded the lowest number among the postal districts at 4,796 kWh.
The demand for gas for residential properties from January 2023 to March 2023 contributed to 47 per cent of the entire figure across the year, according to the CSO. This corresponds to data from Met Éireann which shows the period from January to March that year was the coldest across the country.
Only 6 per cent of all residential gas was used between July and September last year.
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