Netherlands taps into gas reserves as cold wave boosts heating demand
Dutch energy firms have been forced to tap into the country’s gas reserves as the cold wave is boosting demand.
Temperatures in the Netherlands have hovered around or below freezing since early December, and the cold spell is expected to continue at least until the end of this week.
As a result, the gas consumption of Dutch households and companies has risen significantly recently and the country has had to resort to its stored gas reserves to satisfy demand, a spokesperson for Dutch energy network operator Gasunie told Xinhua news agency on Wednesday.
Gasunie estimated that the Netherlands consumed 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas over the last cold week, more than doubling the average weekly usage of about 0.61 cubic meter this year until the end of November.
