(07 February 2019) – In 2017, energy consumption in the European Union continued to increase for the third consecutive year, thus moving away from the energy efficiency targets.
Primary energy consumption amounted to 1 561 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), while final energy consumption reached 1 222 Mtoe. Compared with last year, both levels increased by around 1%.
In 2017, final energy consumption fell compared to 2016 in only four Member States: Belgium (-1.2%, 36.0 Mtoe in 2017), the United Kingdom (-0.8%, 133.3 Mtoe), Italy (-0.6%, 115.2 Mtoe) and Slovenia (-0.3%, 4.9 Mtoe). The highest increases were recorded in Slovakia (+7.0%, 11.1 Mtoe in 2017), Malta (+6.7%, 0.6 Mtoe) and Poland (+6.5%, 71.0 Mtoe).
Among the 23 Member States where final energy consumption decreased between 2006 and 2017, only Greece (-2.3% p.a.) recorded an average annual decrease of more than 2%. Consumption grew in Malta (+2.7% p.a.), Poland (+1.4% p.a.), Lithuania (+0.7% p.a.), Austria (+0.3% p.a.), and Hungary (+0.1% p.a.).