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Mild weather in October and a decline in industrial demand led to a saturation of EU storage facilities. This resulted in a decline in European natural gas prices, with domestic consumption falling by 41 percent in October compared to the previous year, the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Office said on Wednesday, according to its October natural gas market report.
In October, the November 2022 product price on the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), a virtual trading point for natural gas, fell from €195.23 per megawatt-hour to €123.35. European imports of 294 terawatt-hours (TWh) in October were 19 percent lower than a year earlier, down three percent on a monthly basis.
Domestic consumption was 5.8 TWh in October, down 41 percent year-on-year. Almost half of the saving was due to more favorable weather, but temperature-adjusted figures also showed a 23 percent drop.
Mild weather and higher imports allowed 8.2 TWh of gas to be stored in October, with storage facilities ending the month with 58 TWh in stock and a fill level of 85.6 percent. The strategic stock level returned to the 2018 level in Hungary, according to the report.
With the warmer than usual weather, the government’s call to the public to be more energy and heating efficient seems to have hit its target.
The government has also ordered a 25 percent reduction in gas consumption in its institutions, which means that in many places rooms are only allowed to be heated to 19-20 degrees Celsius. This measure has also produced the expected results, as Finance Minister Mihály Varga Mihály reported on his social networking site. As he wrote, the government started saving on its own when it imposed the 25 percent savings.
Moreover, the offices have performed well above the target, as in September gas consumption in the 101 office buildings operated by the Directorate General for Public Procurement and Supply fell by 55.9 percent compared to the previous year. In October, the figure was even higher at 81.2 percent. This represents a saving of HUF 1.3 billion (EUR 3.1 million) for the budget, the Finance Minister pointed out.
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