Industrial Energy Consumption Remained Stable in 2018, while Costs Continued to Rise
In 2018, gross energy consumption in industry remained stable at 37.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent. On the other hand, after a 2% rise in 2017, total energy costs for industrial businesses were up 9% in current euros, reaching 14.5 billion euros. The continued rise was mainly due to an increase in the prices of petroleum products (+20%), steam (+12%) and gas (+10%). Gas and electricity remained the most consumed energy sources.