Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/265522 
more recent Version: 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Version Description: 
Updated version from October 2022
Publisher: 
ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, Kiel, Hamburg
Abstract: 
When Russia curbed natural gas supply to Europe in 2021 and 2022, it created a grave energy crisis. This paper empirically estimates the crisis response of natural gas consumers in Germany—for decades the largest export market for Russian gas. Using a multiple regression model, we estimate the response of small consumers, industry, and power stations separately, controlling for the non-linear temperature-heating relationship, seasonality, trends, and economic activity. For industrial consumers, we find a strong and sustained response, with reductions steadily increasing from 4% in September 2021 to 19% in September 2022, roughly following wholesale price levels. For small consumers, including households and small enterprises, we find a response between 10% and 36% from March to September 2022. However, large relative reductions during the summer translate to small absolute values, because small consumers use little gas during this season anyway. The amount of gas burned in power stations is primarily driven by electricity sector events that are not directly linked to reduced Russian gas supply. These findings suggest that voluntary reductions in gas consumption have played a significant role in coping with the crisis.
Subjects: 
Energy demand
Energy crisis
Natural gas
Demand response
JEL: 
Q41
older Version: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper






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