A figure that is worrying despite appearances, according to the president of Engie. The consumption of large gas consumers in the industry sector has in fact fallen in recent weeks by 30% in Europe and 15% in France compared to last year, under the effect of the outbreak of price, announced Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Wednesday, September 21.
“Price increases have a very strong impact on manufacturers and, unfortunately, in recent weeks in Europe, we have seen a significant reduction in the consumption of large gas-intensive manufacturers”noted the president of the first gas supplier in France, ex-GDF Suez, at the microphone of France Inter.
This reduction in consumption “is good news for the end-of-year gas equation, but bad news for European industry”, he continued. More and more companies, large and small, are indeed forced to reduce or temporarily stop their production, in the face of rising energy and material prices. “Manufacturers see a price signal that leads them to shut down their factories, to move production to other regions of the world”was sorry Mr. Clamadieu.
Gas reserves filled to 96% in France
Asked about possible gas shortages this winter, the latter nevertheless recalled the “great diversification efforts” granted to fill gas stocks. “We are much better prepared than we feared three or four months ago”he noted, referring to the case of France where the reservations are met “95-96%” and will be “maximum” in a few weeks, while those of the whole of the European Union are ” nearly “ at 90% of their capacity.
“One of the reasons that we are getting there is that we have massively increased the arrivals of LNG ships, which transport liquefied natural gas (LNG)”now with “30 or 40 boats per week”versus “10 LNG carriers in Europe, a year ago”detailed the president of Engie.
According to him, it will be necessary to manage “very carefully these storages to avoid (…) the end of winter cold snap ». In particular, he recommends a “10% reduction in gas consumption” in France. “The essential subject is the reduction of the temperature [de chauffage] housing and tertiary buildings (…) One degree means 7% savings on gas consumption in France”said Mr. Clamadieu.
At the end of July, the European Commission presented a plan aimed at reducing gas consumption by 15% between 1er August 2022 and March 31, 2023 within the Member States of the European Union.