My prediction is that in 2016 gas for electricity will have outstripped domestic consumption. That has only happened 4 times in the last 20 years. Britain is evidently getting more addicted to gas.
In this blog, we mostly look at electricity but our energy supply also supports heating and transport.
I was browsing through UK Government statistics produced the following chart. This shows what gas was used for in 2015.
[visualizer id=”592″]
As shown in this chart, electricity represented only part of the gas picture. In 2015, the biggest consumer of gas was domestic heating. Industrial use also features highly.
If you are a duel fuel customer, you can see this trend for yourself. Compare the kWh of gas you consumed on your last bill to the kWh of electricity. For most, gas consumption will be much higher
Clearly, decarbonising our energy supply is going to need more than a focus on electricity and we need to develop a strategy for decarbonising the heat in our homes!
Previous blogs have shown that gas consumption for electrical power grew in 2016. My analysis shows that it grew from providing 30% of our electricity in 2015 to 42% in 2016.
If all other things remain equal, the yet to be released statistics for gas use in 2016 will be as follows:
[visualizer id=”596″]
Statistics on our gas production and consumption in 2016 are yet to be released. My prediction is that these will show that gas for electricity will have outstripped domestic consumption. That has only happened 4 times in the last 20 years. Britain is evidently getting more addicted to gas.
Now do we ask where that should come from or do we ask whether we can break our addiction?