Energy consumption up 3.7% in 2012
Bern, 27.06.2013 - Switzerland's final energy consumption rose in 2012 by 3.7% to 882,280 terajoules (TJ) compared to 2011. The main reason for the increase was the colder weather. Positive developments in the economy also contributed to greater demand as did the continu-ing increase in the population.
Despite the increase, in terms of energy use the year 2012 was about average because the final energy consumption of 882,280 TJ corresponds with the average of the last 10 years and is significantly lower than the peak in consumption recorded in 2010 (911,100 TJ)
The main reason for the increase in consumption was the significantly colder weather experienced in 2012 in comparison to 2011: heating degree days, an indicator of the amount of energy used for heating, increased by 11.7%. Further contributing to higher consumption were increases in the permanent population (+1.0%), in the gross domestic product (+1.0%), the number of homes (an increase was observed, but no statistics are available as yet), and in the number of motor vehicles (+2.3%).
Increased consumption of combustibles, vehicle fuels and electricity
Consumption of combustibles increased sharply compared to 2011. Consumption of extra-light heating oil rose by 7.4% and of gas by 9.7%. Overall use of vehicle fuels increased (+1.1%). Sales of diesel (+6.1%) rose steeply, those of aviation fuel increased moderately (+2.4%), and consumption of petrol fell again (-3.5%), a pattern that has been continued over the last twelve years. The trend of substituting diesel for petrol as vehicle fuel continued unabated. Consumption of heavy types of heating oil (+0.7%) remained almost constant, that of petroleum coke rose (+7.1%). Electricity consumption increased by 0.6% (see SFOE press release of April 17, 2013).
Renewable energy consumption up
Use of wood for heating rose by 10.6%. A marked increase of 16.9% was also seen in the use of ambient heat with heat pumps underlining this continuing trend in the heating sector. A higher rate of consumption was also seen in the district heating sector (+6.4%). As in 2011, use of solar heat (+11.4%), biogas (+4.8%) and biofuels (+15.6%) all increased significantly. Consumption of energy generated from industrial waste (-2.6%) and from coal (-8.7%) fell.
Switzerland's overall energy statistics for 2012 will be available on Internet in the second half of July and in print from the beginning of August 2013. An initial summary of the statistics is available immediately (see attachment).
Address for enquiries
Marianne Zünd, Head of Communication SFOE, 031 322 56 75 / 079 763 86 11
Publisher
Swiss Federal Office of Energy
http://www.bfe.admin.ch
