According to an estimate by energy experts, energy consumption in Germany will fall by 2.7 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year.

The Working Group on Energy Balances (AG Energy Balances) calculates this on the basis of current data on energy consumption for the first nine months.

Overall, the experts assume a total consumption of 12,040 petajoules (PJ), as the working group announced on Wednesday in Berlin.

In the first three quarters, the demand for energy was also 2.7 percent below the previous year's figure.

Among other things, economic growth and a larger population led to higher consumption, while the drastic increase in energy prices and the milder weather, among other things, led to a reduction in consumption.

The development of the various energy sources was very different overall.

The consumption of petrol increased by almost 4 percent, while diesel remained roughly at the previous year's level (minus 0.2 percent).

Aviation fuel consumption increased by 48.5 percent.

"The main reason for the increase in consumption is the increased demand for individual mobility on the road and in the air due to the relaxation of the corona measures," the statisticians wrote.

Sales of light heating oil increased by around 13 percent, mainly due to higher demand from industry.

In the case of naphtha for the chemical industry, growth was almost 4 percent.

Coal power generation is increasing

Natural gas consumption fell by a good 12 percent in the first three quarters.

The main reason for this development, in addition to the comparatively mild weather, was the high price level for natural gas.

Hard coal consumption increased by almost 12 percent overall, mainly due to a significant increase in electricity generation.

The coal requirements of the steel industry, on the other hand, fell by 4.7 percent due to a decline in iron and steel production.

The primary energy consumption of lignite increased by 8 percent.

Electricity generation from nuclear energy fell by around half due to the shutdown of three nuclear power plants at the end of 2021.

Electricity from renewable energies increased by a total of 4.2 percent.