The lower electricity consumption was particularly evident in the fourth quarter. In October, November and December consumption was 8 percent lower than the average of the past 5 years, with the largest drop in November (-11.1 percent). From January to September, electricity consumption fell by an average of 2 percent.
In addition to the higher energy prices – the average monthly price was historically high – the weather also had an impact on consumption.
Renewable energy production continued its upward trend and once again broke some records. Wind and solar energy together accounted for 17.4 TWh, compared to 15.2 TWh a year earlier.
The increase is due to the increase in the installed capacity of onshore wind turbines (+14 percent) and solar energy (+35 percent). Wind and solar energy together accounted for 17.4 percent of the electricity mix in 2022. On May 11, there was a new all-time record for the total production of solar and wind energy (7,112 megawatts).
Nuclear energy remained the main supplier, although its share in the electricity mix fell below half to 47.3 percent (52.2 percent in 2021). The nuclear power plants delivered 41.8 TWh. “Despite the final closure of Doel 3 at the end of September 2022, the availability rate of the nuclear production park was high last year,” said Elia. Gas-fired power stations accounted for 26.9 percent of the electricity mix (23.8 TWh).
Last year, for the fourth time in a row, there were more exports than imports of electricity across national borders. This concerns a net export of 6.6 TWh.
1 Terawatt-hour (TWh) = 1 billion Kilowatt-hours (kWh).
1 Kilowatt hour = 1,000 watts for 1 hour. Watt is the unit of power.
One kilowatt hour (kWh) is therefore the power of one kilowatt that is consumed for one hour. For example: an electric fireplace with a capacity of 2,000 watts that is turned on for one hour at the maximum consumes 2 kWh. A 2,000 Watt vacuum cleaner consumes 1 kWh after half an hour of vacuuming.
On the power exchanges they usually charge in megawatts, or 1 million watts.
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