The consumption of the main gas customers in Europe has decreased by 30% in recent weeks compared to last year, due to the rise in prices, according to Engie Group Chairman Jean-Pierre Clamadieu.
"The price increases are having a very big impact on industrial consumers, and unfortunately we have seen a significant drop in the consumption of large gas-intensive industrial consumers, the major gas consumers, in recent weeks in Europe," Clamadieu told France Inter.
Taking all suppliers together, the trend in the markets is a 30% reduction compared to last year, "which is good news for year-end gas supplies, but bad news for European industry," he noted.
Clamadieu also indicated that France's gas reserves were now 95% to 96% full. "We are much better prepared than we thought three months ago," he said.
He expects French stocks to be full within a few weeks and those in Europe as a whole to be nearly 90% full. However, he stressed that these reserves would have to be handled carefully to prevent problems at the end of winter, and proposed a 10% reduction of gas consumption.
"It is essential to reduce heating in homes and tertiary buildings," he said. "One degree less means a 7% saving on gas consumption in France."
