Despite the energy crisis and the jump in prices, the consumption of both electricity and liquid fuels (petrol and diesel) remain higher than last year, according to the latest available data for the 7th month of 2022 compared to the corresponding last season.
The causes of the increase, according to market estimates, include on the one hand the subsidies for the consumption of electricity and liquid fuels (fuel passes) which compensate a large part or in some cases the whole burden for consumers, the increase in tourism which pushes upward movements, the general increase in economic activity (growth in the first quarter according to ELSTAT was 7%) but also the fact that in the first months of 2021 travel restrictions were still in place to a certain extent to deal with the pandemic .
According to fuel market sources, gasoline consumption in the 7th month of 2022 has increased by 6% compared to the corresponding period of 2021, while for diesel the increase is 9%.
However, the picture for July is different, when a 2% increase was recorded in the consumption of oil but a decrease of 12-13% in gasoline. Industry sources attribute the decrease in gasoline last month, on the one hand, to the fact that then the average price reached 2.4 euros per liter (and more than 2.6 euros in island regions) but also to the fact that the payments from the fuel pass. The same sources estimate that by paying the subsidies the picture can be improved, which of course remains to be proven by the accounting data and will depend, among other things, on whether consumers will prefer to use the subsidy for the purchase of fuel or for other needs.
The managing director of ELPE Andreas Siamisii confirmed in the context of the presentation of the half-year results that diesel consumption remains resilient in contrast to gasoline which shows fatigue in July and August. He observed that even in this “difficult” environment, the consumption of premium products maintains its shares and that the margins of the sector remain “frozen” and are not expected to increase.
In electricity, official figures from the Stock Exchange show that consumption in 7 months increased by 7.2% (34.5 gigawatt hours this year compared to 32.1 last year) with renewables covering most of the increase but also the “gap ” created by the reduction in power generation from lignite and hydro during the first months of the year.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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