Primary energy consumption in Germany decreased slightly during the first three months of the current year, according to the Energy Balance Working Group. Specifically, the figures indicate a decline of 1.7 percent, reaching 3,059 Petajoules (PJ)-or 104.4 million tonnes of coke equivalent-compared to the same period last year.
According to the working group, the primary reason for this contraction in consumption is the persistently weak economic climate. Although the overall Gross Domestic Product grew by 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2026, production significantly declined in several energy-intensive sectors. This decline stood in contrast to an increase in consumption in the space heating market, driven by partly very cold weather in January.
The Energy Balance Working Group noted that favorable, though unseen, effects could have bolstered consumption. Typically, falling energy import prices increase demand, but this effect was not realized due to the closure of the waterway through the Strait of Hormuz and the sharp rise in crude oil and natural gas prices starting in March.
Furthermore, the figures reflect statistical effects due to shifts in the energy source mix. Because renewable energy generated significantly more electricity in the first quarter, a calculated conservation of primary energy resulted. Renewable sources are valued at a 100% efficiency when used to generate electricity under international conventions. In the previous quarter, a lower wind output had produced the opposite effect. Even after accounting for the increased heating demand caused by colder weather compared to the prior year, the primary energy consumption actually dropped by 2.2 percent.
Examining specific fuels, mineral oil consumption declined by 5 percent in the first three months. Gasoline demand saw a slight drop of 0.5 percent, while the demand for diesel fuel fell by about 5 percent. Deliveries of raw gasoline, particularly to the chemical industry, dropped by nearly 2 percent, largely due to economic conditions. Aviation fuel consumption decreased by 5.5 percent, and the sale of light heating oil saw a substantial decline of over 10 percent. The working group suggested that consumers apparently did not utilize the relatively affordable prices in January and February to top up their heating oil reserves and were then surprised by the drastic price increases in March, leading to considerable reluctance to purchase.
Natural gas consumption dropped by 1.4 percent compared to the first quarter of the previous year. While increased demand for space heating, electricity, and district heating counterbalanced industrial drops, the consumption of hard coal rose by 3.5 percent. Although the use of hard coal in power plants dropped by 3.9 percent, supplies to the iron and steel industry increased by 6.5 percent.
Brown coal consumption fell sharply by over 7 percent in the first quarter. This major decrease in consumption was mirrored by a reduction in mining output. This decline is attributed not only to the ongoing closure of power plant capacity related to the phase-out of coal but also to the high degree of reliance on wind energy for electricity generation, which allowed brown coal plants to respond precisely to the fluctuating supply of wind power.
Renewable sources, overall, increased by 6.6 percent in the first quarter compared to the previous year. The most significant factor was an increase of 28 percent in wind power generation compared to the extremely wind-poor quarter the previous year. Solar power also rose by 3 percent. The colder weather also drove a higher use of renewables for heat purposes (a plus of 4 percent), although the sale of biofuels declined by 2 percent.
In the first quarter of 2026, Germany exported more electricity to foreign countries than it imported for the first time since 2023. Electricity exports rose by 20.6 percent, amounting to 19.5 billion kWh, while electricity imports fell by 15.9 percent, reaching 16.0 billion kWh.
Finally, estimated energy-related CO2 emissions fell by approximately 2.5 percent compared to the previous quarter, representing a reduction of around 4.5 million tonnes.