In September 2024, gas consumption in Greece (4.87 TWh) decreased compared to the previous months and was the second lowest of the year. However, overall in the first nine months of 2024 consumption (47.65 TWh) increased by 25.2%, compared to the same period in 2023. Russian gas imports continue to dominate, with a share of almost 60% (58.6%) in the nine-month period (from pipeline and LNG).
The month of September
According to the latest available data from DESFA, in September 2024 total domestic gas consumption in Greece was below 5 TWh (4.87 TWh). It was the third highest in six years (2019-2024) for the month of September.
The largest increase in absolute terms, compared to September last year, came from electricity (+0.34 TWh or +10.1%). Industry followed with a smaller increase (+0.07 TWh or +11.3%) and then gas use in distribution networks (+0.03 TWh or +5.7%).
Cumulative performance in the first nine months of 2024
Cumulatively, gas consumption for the first nine months of 2024 was 47.65 TWh, marking an increase compared to the five-year average of 2.83 TWh (+6.3%). The increase was even larger compared to the first nine months of 2023 (+9.58 TWh or +25.2%).
As far as end uses are concerned, the largest percentage increase compared to the five-year average was recorded in industry (+24.6% or +1.29 TWh), followed by electricity (+7.4% ή +2.27 TWh). In contrast, there was a decrease in networks (-8.3 or -0.73 TWh).
Similarly, when comparing the first nine months of 2024 with the same period in 2023, the largest percentage increase was recorded in industry (+88.1% or +3.1 TWh), followed by electricity (+25.4% or +6.71 TWh). In contrast, there was a decrease in distribution networks (-2.4% or -0.19 TWh).
Consumption in 2024
Gas consumption in September 2024 (4.87 TWh) decreased compared to the previous month and was the second lowest of the year after April (4.2 TWh). However, it increased by 9.7% compared to September 2023 (4.43 TWh).
In all months of 2024 so far, gas consumption is higher compared to the corresponding months of 2023.
Looking at the breakdown of gas consumption by end uses in the first nine months of 2024, electricity had the largest share with 33.1 TWh (or 69.5%), an amount almost equal to the same period in 2023 (69.4%).
The share of distribution networks decreased from 21.5% (or 8.17 TWh) in the first nine months of 2023 to 16.8% (or 8 TWh) during the same period this year. This redistribution was the result of a large increase in the share of industry which rose by almost 5 percentage points – from 9.1% (or 3.48 TWh) in the first nine months of 2023 to 13.7% (or 6.54 TWh) in the same period of 2024.
The voluntary European target of -15%
In March 2024, the European Union issued a recommendation for Member States to continue their efforts in reducing gas consumption by 15% for the period April 2024 to March 2025, compared to the reference period from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2022.
Therefore, considering Greece’s performance so far, it appears that for the first six months of the new voluntary reduction period (April-September 2024), the country did not decrease its gas consumption compared to the reference period, but instead increased it. In particular, consumption (31.44 TWh) was 8.41 TWh higher than the target (23.03 TWh), while it exceeded the average of the reference period (27.1 TWh) by 4.34 TWh.
Comparing Greece’s performance with the other EU-27 Member States for the first five months of the new voluntary reduction period (April-August 2024)[1], Greece increased its consumption by 18% compared to the reference period[2] of the voluntary reduction target. This performance places Greece last compared to the rest of the EU. It is actually one of the two countries that have increased their gas consumption; the other one is Slovenia (+4.1%). The EU-27 ranked 15th (-18.8%), meeting its voluntary gas consumption reduction target (-15%).
Imports in 2024
September
Russian gas imports via pipeline in September 2024 (3.16 TWh) were the third highest ever on a monthly basis, after a series of highs in July and August. Consequently, the monthly share of imports from Turkstream exceeded 60% (64.9%), ranking Russian gas first as far as import sources are concerned.
Azeri gas from TAP via Nea Mesimvria was second in September 2024, with a 22.9% share (1.1 TWh), registering a +150% increase compared to September 2023 (0.45 TWh).
The monthly flow of LNG from the Agia Triada was third with 12.3. However, LNG flows from Agia Triada were three times lower in September 2024 (0.6 TWh) compared to the same month in 2023 (1.55 TWh).
Imports from the fourth entry gate, Kipoi in Turkey, were zero for the ninth consecutive month, i.e. since the beginning of the year.
First 9 months of 2024
Cumulatively, for the first nine months of 2024, total imports from Greece’s entry points were 47.6 TWh, up 15.9% compared to the same period of 2023. Imports through the Sidirokastro gate are now consistently the first source of supply in Greece, with 26 TWh and a share close to 55% (54.6%). The corresponding share in the first nine months of 2023 was only 20.4%.
LNG imports via the Agia Triada gateway were second with 12 TWh and a share of 25.3%, marking a large decrease (-52.2%) compared to the first nine months of 2023. Azeri gas imports through TAP remained in third place with 9.3 TWh and a share of 19.6%, up 58.8% compared to the first nine months of 2023.
Finally, there were zero gas exports through the Sidirokastro gate for the 13th consecutive month (since September 2023).
Russian gas imports to Greece
As far as fossil gas from Russia is concerned, there are two entry points: one from Sidirokastro through the Turkstream pipeline and a second one from the Agia Triada gateway in the form of liquefied fossil gas (LNG).
In the first nine months of 2024, Russian gas in total reached at least[3] 58.6% of total gas imports in the country. This high share is mainly due to Russian gas imports via pipeline, as Russian LNG imports were significantly low in the first two months of 2024 and fell to zero for the remaining months of the year (March – August).
Read here the analyses of the previous months since the start of the EU reduction measures in August 2022.
[1] The data for the comparison have been taken from Eurostat, where the most recent data available are for the month of August.
[2] This period is the average of the April-August intervals from 2017 to 2022.
[3] Actual imports are likely to be higher as they do not include possible imports of Russian LNG in September 2024.
