Germany's energy use dropped 7.1% in the first half of 2023, as high prices and difficult economic conditions more than offset the effect of refugees boosting population numbers, industry statistics group AGEB said on Wednesday. Usage in Europe's biggest economy fell to 189.7 million tonnes of coal equivalent, an industry standard measure, compared with 204.3 million recorded in the first six months of 2022, AGEB's January-June report showed. Record prices following the energy supply crisis last year caused households and industry to cut consumption, while governments sought alternatives to Russian raw material supplies.

AGEB said that the drop in consumption and the quest for more energy efficiency were here to stay. That's despite Germany's population rising to a record high in 2022 boosted by Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. Gas use was down 10.1% year-on-year. Slowing economic growth and exports, which have caused a manufacturing downturn in Germany, also affected electricity demand, so that hard and brown coal usage sank, rather than picking up market share from gas. Germany became an importer of power in the six months, benefiting from lower production costs elsewhere and from higher hydroelectric supply in neighbouring countries, due to favourable weather. Consequently, CO2 emissions fell 8% year on year, or by 28 million tonnes, AGEB said in a preliminary estimate.

German nuclear usage has ended as the country's last three reactors closed for good by April 15. ENERGY SOURCE H1 2022* H1 2023 PCT RESPECTIVE CHANGE SHARE OF YR/YR TOTAL USE in 2023 Oil 65.2 63.9 - 2.0 33.7 Natural gas 55.2 49.6 - 10.1 26.1 Hard coal 19.1 17.1 - 10.8 9.0 Lignite 19.5 16.0 - 18.1 8.4 Nuclear energy 6.2 2.7 - 55.9 1.4 Renewables 37.4 37.6 + 0.6 19.8 Foreign power - 2.1 - 0.4 ... - 0.2 trade balance Others 3.7 3.2 - 12.3 1.7 TOTAL 204.3 189.7 - 7.1 100 *Energy use numbers in million tonnes coal equivalent units. One unit equals 29.308 petajoules. Table allows for rounding errors. (Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Miranda Murray and Sharon Singleton)