Japan’s gas consumption to dip 5% in 2023

This comes as nuclear restarts are expected next year.

Gas consumption in Japan is expected to decline by 5% due to nuclear restarts and the rise in the solar generation which cut demand in the power sector more sharply, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In a report, the IEA noted that its forecast is based on the expectation that 13 nuclear reactors will operate in 2023, following the announcement of Japan’s Prime Minister of the plan to accelerate nuclear restarts and increase the number of operating reactors to 17 after mid-2023.

However, the agency said the execution of the plan is still uncertain partly due to factors outside the control of the central government as reactor restarts need approval at the municipal level.

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The country’s gas consumption in the first half of 2022 was flat with the declines in power generation offset by increases in other sectors, it said.

“Despite overall electricity demand growing in H1 2022 due to high summer temperatures, power sector gas demand dropped in Q1 due to an increase in renewable and nuclear generation, and was only partially reversed in Q2 by growing power sector gas burn due to a reduction in nuclear output,” IEA said.

IEA said that even if gas consumption rose by over 5% year-on-year in the industrial and commercial sectors in the first half due to the ongoing economic recovery, total consumption in 2022 is expected to remain flat as the contracting demand in the power sector continues amidst the rise in industrial and commercial demand.