GasNet, a domestic leader in natural gas distribution, last year supplied customers with 7.56 billion cubic meters of gas through its gas pipelines. The year-on-year increase was 12 percent, according to the company. Gas companies have seen their consumption grow for the third year in a row. The main reason was colder weather. In addition, the continuing interest of households in natural gas was evident.
Last year’s volume is the largest amount of gas distributed in the last ten years. GasNet supplies natural gas to households and companies throughout the Czech Republic, except in Prague and the South Bohemian Region. There are three gas distribution system operators in the Czech Republic. EG.D (formerly E.ON Distribuce) covers the South Bohemian Region, the Prague Gas Capital.
The main factor that affects the amount of gas consumption is the average atmospheric temperature. The average atmospheric temperature in the GasNet distribution area was 8.6 degrees Celsius last year, which is one degree Celsius lower than the long-term average. At the same time, according to the company, it was the lowest value in the last eight years.
“Low temperatures contributed to the growth of gas consumption last year, but the growth of natural gas consumption is permanent and we believe that this trend will continue,” said Jiří Zdvořáček, director of the GasNet distribution dispatching center. “Thanks to boiler subsidies, the interest of Czech households in gas heating is still growing. Higher European trends as a gradual replacement of coal with natural gas in the production of heat and electricity are certainly a sign of higher consumption,” said Zdvořáček.
According to GasNet, since the launch of the boiler subsidies, more than 60,000 households have started to heat with gas, which have stopped heating with solid fuels and have just switched to natural gas. The demand for gas connection is also helped by new construction in the vicinity of large cities such as Prague, Brno or Ostrava.
The GasNet Group is the operator of the largest gas distribution system in the Czech Republic. It supplies natural gas to more than 2.3 million customers. According to the company, GasNet’s share of natural gas distribution in the Czech Republic is about 80 percent, the company manages 65,000 kilometers of gas pipelines.
The 100% GasNet Group is a consortium of investors led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), which includes British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and Allianz Capital Partners, representing Allianz Group insurance companies.
Source: GasNet Group and CTK
