Significant Increase in Electricity and Gas Consumption in March

In March 2025, households in Austria experienced a notable rise in electricity consumption, with a total increase of 0.29 terawatt-hours (TWh), representing a 5.2% rise compared to the previous year. This information was released by E-Control on Wednesday evening. Interestingly, the electricity generation also decreased by 10.5%, remaining at 5.9 TWh. Hydropower plants saw their output fall sharply by 37.4%, with the generation coefficient dropping from 1.07 last year to 0.64 this year. Additionally, the output from storage power plants decreased by 21.3%.

Among renewable energy sources, only photovoltaic systems showed a positive trend, with a 41.9% increase in production, contributing 0.83 TWh, or 14% of total electricity generation. In contrast, wind energy production dropped by 19.7%. However, thermal power plants reported a significant increase in output, generating approximately 1.8 TWh, which is a 29.7% rise compared to March of the previous year. This decline in domestic electricity production was reflected in the increased electricity imports, which surged by around 46.1% to 2.34 TWh. Conversely, exports fell by 20.1%, totaling 1.46 TWh. Last year, Austria's electricity exports exceeded imports by 0.23 TWh, but this March, the country recorded an import balance of 0.88 TWh.

The gas consumption figures were even more pronounced, with a significant increase of 1.73 TWh, or 26.4%, bringing the total gas supplied to end customers to 8.28 TWh. This surge can be attributed to lower temperatures during the month, as heating degree days rose by 26.2%. As a result of the increased demand, gas storage levels saw a rapid decline, ending the month with 43.56 TWh--approximately 28.8 TWh or 39.8% lower than the previous year's levels. Gas withdrawals from storage facilities were around 8.36 TWh, which is a 50.1% increase compared to the previous year. In contrast, only 1.6 TWh was injected back into storage, marking a modest rise of 4.4% from the same period last year.

Despite the higher consumption, domestic production of gas, including biogenic gases, decreased by 4.5% year-on-year, totaling around 0.51 TWh. Gas imports also saw a reduction, dropping by 31.4% to 8.18 TWh, while exports fell by 27.6% to 7.05 TWh when compared to March 2024.

Overall, the data highlights a complex energy landscape in Austria, characterized by rising consumer demand amid declining domestic production capacities, further emphasizing the challenges faced in energy management.