Germany misses gas savings target again as consumption dips only 5% in Week 49

Germany again missed its 20% gas demand reduction target in Week 49 (Dec. 5-11) with consumption only 5% below the 2018-21 average for the week, Germany's energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur said Dec. 15 in a market update.

Germany has continued to advocate gas consumption reduction of at least 20% to make it safely through the winter, even in the event of a cold snap. It first missed the target in week 48 when demand dropped 13%.

Consumption rose 12% week on week to 3.824 TWh/d in Week 49 as temperatures dropped, boosting household demand. It was 5% down on the four-year average of 4.033 TWh/d.

"The savings target was clearly missed," the regulator said, adding that temperatures in Germany in Week 49 were 2.7 degrees Celsius colder than in recent years.

But it said that even adjusted for temperature, consumption in weeks 48 and 49 was only 12% below the average for the past four years.

Consumption by households and small commercial businesses -- which normally account for around 40% of the total -- rose 16% on the week in Week 48 to 1.918 TWh/d.

And it was down by only 3% on the 2018-21 average of 1.981 TWh/d for the week given the cold temperatures boosting heating demand.

Industrial and power sector demand, which usually accounts for the remaining 60% of German gas consumption, amounted to 1.906 TWh/d in Week 49, up by 8% week on week and down only 7% on the 2018-21 average of 2.052 TWh/d.

Industrial demand had been particularly hard hit by high gas prices, which reached record levels this summer.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the benchmark Dutch TTF month-ahead price at an all-time high of Eur319.98/MWh ($340/MWh) on Aug. 26.

Prices have weakened since on the back of healthy storage and demand curtailments, though they remain historically high with Platts assessing the TTF month-ahead price Dec. 14 at Eur131.18/MWh.