Gas production at the Corrib and Kinsale fields and from indigenous biomethane plants continued to fall in February, accounting for 20 per cent of the Republic’s total gas supply in the month, new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures indicate, with the remaining 80 per cent imported from abroad.
Total metered gas demand, meanwhile, fell 3 per cent in February compared with the same month last year amid a decline in the consumption of the fossil fuel by power plants to generate electricity, likely due to higher levels of electricity generation from wind power due to blustery conditions.
Demand from customers whose consumption is not metered on a daily basis – including households and industry sectors with low levels of demand – increased over the 12 months by 5 per cent. Demand from large daily metered users, including large data centres, increased 3 per cent over the period, the CSO said.
On days where there is less wind available, a higher proportion of electricity is generated by gas-fired thermal generation plants, increasing demand. In the colder winter months, gas demand is at its highest so non-daily metered natural gas demand also tends to rise over this period.
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Networked gas demand for February 2024 was lowest on February 4th – coinciding with the second-warmest day of the month, according to Met Éireann – with daily demand of 96 gigawatt hours (GWh).
Demand was highest on February 13th when wind speeds were low, reducing wind energy production to the grid, said Deirdre Moran, statistician in the CSO’s climate and energy division. Met Éireann said in its monthly climate statement for February described the month as mild and wet with strong gales reported at many of the stations.
On the supply side, the February figure was 20 per cent lower than January at 4,419 GWh, according to the figures, down from 24 per cent at the end of last year but up slightly from 17 per cent in January. Of the total, gas imports from abroad accounted for 80 per cent with indigenous production from the Corrib gasfield and biomethane plants accounting for the remaining 20 per cent.
The Republic’s remaining indigenous natural gas supply is projected to decline over the course of the decade.
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