Energy prices: Germans buy 38 percent less heating oil

The experts see the subdued economic development and the sharp rise in energy prices as the main reasons.

The annual forecast is based on data for the first nine months of the current year. During this period, energy consumption fell by 3.6 percent compared to the same period last year, according to AGEB.

Heating oil collapses

The consumption of mineral oil fell by more than twelve percent overall from January to September. The declines varied depending on the energy source. The decline for petrol was four percent and for diesel it was over nine percent. Sales of aviation fuel fell by three percent and deliveries of raw gasoline to the chemical industry fell by around five percent.

For light heating oil, the decline was over 38 percent. The reason: Consumers had reduced their inventories due to high prices and only bought small quantities, according to the AGEB.

Hard coal consumption is increasing

Natural gas consumption increased slightly (0.8 percent) and hard coal consumption increased by more than eight percent. The use in power plants to generate electricity recorded an increase of 7.2 percent. The iron and steel industry also consumed slightly more coal than in the comparable period. Renewable energies increased by 5.7 percent.

The AGEB found that in the first nine months more electricity flowed abroad than was purchased from there. The balance was 1.9 terawatt hours. In the comparable period of the two previous years, electricity exchange still had significant import surpluses.

Renewables increase share to 22.5 percent

Renewable energies accounted for a total share of 22.5 percent of total energy consumption in the first nine months of 2026. Last year it was 20.5 percent. The fossil fuels oil, natural gas and coal continued to provide the majority of the energy consumed in Germany, at a combined 75.5 percent. The remaining shares include, among other things, amounts of electricity generated by waste incineration.