The Luxemburg Regulatory Institute (ILR) published this month key figures of the electricity and natural gas markets, which showed growth in both sectors.
These figures show, in particular, that the natural gas market is expanding with the entry of two new suppliers into the retail market and a net increase in the number of supplier changes in 2016. It should also be noted that national electricity consumption and renewable energy generation capacity are up compared to previous years.
In its report on the key figures of the electricity market, the ILR notes that the closure of the Esch-sur-Alzette TGV (gas turbine) plant operated by Twinerg SA has led to a significant decrease of the total installed generation capacity, which rose from 728 MW in 2015 to 414 MW in 2016. Production capacity based on renewable energy sources, on the other hand, rose sharply. In fact, 22 new wind turbines, with an installed capacity of 62.7 MW, were commissioned at the end of 2016.
Electricity produced on the basis of renewable energy sources increased from 430 GWh (gigawatt-hour). in 2015 to 461 GWh in 2016. With regard to solar energy, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power plants increased by 6 MW in 2016 compared to the previous year.
The report also points out that 571 consumers have switched electricity suppliers, 214 more than the previous year. However, the rate of change is still low in 2016, amounting to 1.1% in terms of energy volume and 0.2% in terms of number of customers. The ILR also notes that Luxembourg continues to import most of its electricity mainly from Germany, as the transmission network is interconnected with the German transport network. It also appears that the country's total consumption has increased in 2016 to 6,522 GWh.
Graph by ILR representing electricity consumption.
