Switzerland also significantly reduced its gas consumption in November. Despite low consumption, costs exploded due to the sharp rise in market prices.
In November, Switzerland imported a total of 3,084 gigawatt hours of gas. That’s about 29 percent less than the average for the same month over the past five years, according to the Federal Office of Energy’s (SFOE) information portal. Already in October, net imports of 1,756 gigawatt-hours were almost 40 percent below the long-term average.
On the right track with the goal of saving
So far, this has saved about a third every two months. This puts Switzerland on the right track towards its savings goal. The federal government has set a target of using at least 15 percent less gas cumulatively during the cold season from October 2022 to March 2023 than the average of the last five years. However, the winter months, from December to February, are usually the peak months for consumption.
Net imports are a good indicator of consumption, as Switzerland does not produce natural gas and the country does not have large gas storage facilities. According to SFOE, monthly net import data comes from the Swiss Gas Industry Association.
Reliable, more recent data on local gas consumption are still not available. More up-to-date information from the European Association of Gas Transmission System Operators can be largely adapted later and is therefore not very meaningful.
Spending nearly fivefold
Thus, consumption continued to fall sharply in November, while the cost of gas increased drastically, meanwhile. In November 2022 alone, Switzerland paid about 430 million francs for raw materials – more than triple what it was in November 2021.
This is demonstrated by the latest foreign trade data from the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security. During the year as a whole, Swiss spending on gas imports almost five times compared to the previous year. (SDA)