Power plants increased their consumption of natural gas in July as demand for electricity continued to rise, new figures show.
About half of the Republic’s electricity comes from burning gas, of which roughly 80 per cent is imported.
Power plants boosted their use of the fuel in July by 12 per cent on the same month in 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Friday.
Overall natural gas demand rose 8 per cent in July, according to the office. But families and small businesses cut their consumption by 16 per cent during the month, it added.
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Electricity consumption rose in the Republic during July, figures show. Power companies in the State generated almost 2,290 gigawatt hours (GW/h), according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
Natural gas accounted for 1,385GW/h of this, according to the agency’s statistics for the month. Wind energy contributed 683GW/h in the Republic.
On an all-Ireland basis, wind energy contributed 786GW/h, industry body Wind Energy Ireland calculated.
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The State imports about a fifth of its electricity from Northern Ireland and Britain.
High prices here make this an attractive market, particularly for British-based electricity companies, which supply power through two interconnectors running under the Irish Sea.
Natural gas imports accounted for 81 per cent of what was consumed here in July, the CSO said on Friday. Most of that came from Britain and Norway via a pipe dubbed the Moffat Interconnector, which connects Ireland with Scotland.
Dympna Corry, statistician with the CSO’s climate and energy division, noted that “power plants accounted for 77 per cent of total gas demand” in July. Large daily metered customers, mostly industrial users, used 12 per cent of supplies, Ms Corry added.
“Gas demand by non-daily metered customers, who are largely domestic users and small businesses, showed a reduction in gas consumption in July 2025, which was down 16 per cent compared with July 2024,” she said.
Imports rose 13 per cent in July, while indigenous production was 18 per cent lower during the month, according to Ms Corry.
