Belgian Gas Use Flat in 2017, Zeebrugge Quiet
Belgian energy regulator Creg published January 26 key facts about the country's wholesale gas and electricity markets in 2017.
Gas consumption in Belgium was 182 terawatt-hours of gas (16.9bn m3) last year, or 1.4% more than in 2016.
The Zeebrugge LNG terminal's activity declined significantly: 17 ships unloaded a total of 14 TWh-gas (0.13bn m3), while 16 smaller carriers loaded 1 TWh. That was far less than in 2016 when 30 ships unloaded 26-TWh, while 32 ships loaded 14 TWh. Belgium's Loenhout gas storage facility at end-2017 was only 42%-full, compared to 77% at end-2016, in line with the European trend for lower storage fills.
The average price of gas on the short-term market has increased to around €17.30 per MWh of gas in 2017, while that on the long-term market was around € 17/MWh, which represents for both
products the first increase since 2013 where they exceeded on average €26/MWh.
Belgian power plants generated and sent into the grid 69.6 TWh in 2017, almost the same as the 69.5 TWh in 2016; gas-fired plants produced 18.4 TWh last year (versus 18.2 TWh in 2016) while nuclear plants produced 40.2 TWh (against 41.4 TWh in 2016). As Belgian power consumption was 77.3 TWh in 2017, according to grid operator Elia, the country was a net electricity importer.
Belgium's low-carbon nuclear and gas generation means that the carbon intensity of its power generation is similar to France's and about half that of Germany, Netherlands and the UK.
Creg's full report about 2017, released January 26 and approved the day before, is available here.