Business lags behind households in cutting gas use

Sinn Féin senator Lynn Boylan said that homeowners were being asked to carry the weight for gas reductions, when industry was not. File picture

Irish households continue to outpace industry when it comes to cutting gas consumption.

Figures supplied by Environment Minister Eamon Ryan to Sinn Féin senator Lynn Boylan show that while overall gas demand is down 4% on the five-year rolling average, industrial and commercial use is down just 13% while residential is down 40% on average.

Figures from Gas Networks Ireland released last week show that in the first six months of 2023, overall gas demand increased slightly on the last six months of 2022, but fell by 2% when compared to the first six months of 2022. However, Mr Ryan said that Ireland would be one of a small number of EU countries not to hit a 15% reduction in demand as mandated by the European Council.

"The majority of EU countries reached the -15% target, with the exception of Ireland (-0.2%), Slovakia (-1.0%), Spain (-10.8%), Poland (-12.5%), Slovenia (-13.8%) and Belgium (-14.5%), which recorded smaller decreases, and Malta (smallest gas consumer among all EU members using gas), which actually saw a 12.7% increase between August 2022 and March 2023. 

"Consumption fell the most in Finland (-55.7%), Lithuania (-40.5%) and Sweden (-37.2%) and in other EU countries, consumption dropped beyond the 15% target."

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Ms Boylan said that homeowners were being asked to carry the weight for reductions, when industry was not. “We need an approach to climate policy that is informed by climate justice and takes a harder line on corporate emissions to give households a break.

“From an emissions perspective, it’s particularly concerning that the amount of gas used to generate electricity is continuing to rise.

“The Climate Change Advisory Council cited growing demand for electricity as a reason for elevated emissions from the sector. We know from Eirgrid’s reports that almost all new demand is coming from data centres and only a tiny fraction is coming from electrification of heat and transport.

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“The government’s approach here is eco-austerity 101: Households are being allowed to slide into energy poverty while the government takes a light touch approach to demand from industry."

The Climate Change Advisory Council's annual review last week warned that the country will not meet the targets set in the first and second carbon budget periods unless urgent action is taken and emissions begin to fall much more rapidly. 

The Climate Council's assessment mirrors that of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which warned last month that Ireland is on course to cut emissions by just 29% by 2030, as compared to the target of 51% — with key sectors such as agriculture and transport way off track.

According to Gas Networks Ireland, in the first half of the year gas generated 9% more of the country’s electricity (49%) than it did in the same period last year, while wind energy’s contribution fell 6% to 34%.

At times during the period from January to June 2023, gas powered almost 90% of the country’s electricity, peaking at 89% and never dropping below 16% on any day in the six-month period. Wind peaked at 79%.