Cost of energy purchased by Irish enterprises fell by 4%, CSO finds
The cost of energy purchased by Irish registered businesses fell by 4% to €16.3 billion in 2024, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The measurement is in kilotonnes of oil equivalent, and overall energy use increased by 1% in 2024 compared with 2023.
Solid fuel use, which includes coal and peat, showed a significant downward trend. There has been a 46% decrease in solid fuel consumption compared with 2023.
When it came to electricity and natural gas together, this accounted for 58% of the total energy costs incurred by enterprises in 2024.
The highest energy use was in the transportation and storage sector, this represented 44% of the energy use in kilotonnes of oil equivalent.
Darko Babic, Statistician in the Climate and Energy Division, said: “The estimated cost of purchases of energy by Irish resident enterprises fell by 4% from €17 billion in 2023 to €16.3 billion in 2024 (See Table 1B). In contrast, the overall quantity of energy used by Irish resident enterprises, in kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe), increased by 1% over the same period.
“Consumption of solid fuels, such as coal and peat, continued the downward trend seen in recent years. Use of coal by businesses reduced from 412 ktoe in 2023 to 245 ktoe in 2024, representing a 41% decrease. Consumption of peat also decreased from 45 ktoe in 2023 to 0 ktoe in 2024. (See Table 2A).
“Quantities of Heavy Fuel Oil consumed by businesses rose by 86% to 192 ktoe in 2024; however, this was relative to a low figure of 103 ktoe in 2023. Consumption of Petroleum coke decreased from 113 ktoe in 2023 to 77 ktoe in 2024.
“Looking at energy use by sector, the Services sector saw an increase of 2% in energy use in 2024 compared with 2023, whilst the Industry energy use was unchanged for the same period.
“Transportation and Storage had the highest energy use of any sector, at 6,188 ktoe in 2024, which made up 44% of total energy use. A large component of this came from consumption of aviation fuel by Irish resident airlines.”