Cold and Wet September Sends Gas Demand Soaring
Residential gas demand in Ireland almost tripled in September as cooler and wetter conditions prompted households to switch on heating, Gas Networks Ireland has said.
Met Éireann reported September as the wettest month of 2025 so far, with an average temperature of 13°C. Domestic gas use rose 168 per cent compared with August, one of the largest month-on-month increases this year.
Overall gas demand fell by 4 per cent compared with August and was 9 per cent lower than in September 2024, mainly due to reduced gas use for electricity generation. Gas demand for electricity dropped 14 per cent month-on-month and 12 per cent year-on-year.
Other sectors recorded strong rises including education, up 77 per cent as schools and colleges reopened, offices up 47 per cent and leisure and sports facilities up 40 per cent.
Gas generated 37 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in September, peaking at 75 per cent and never falling below 13 per cent. This was down from 45 per cent in August and 44 per cent in September last year, but gas continued to support the electricity system during periods of low renewable output.
Wind supplied 34 per cent of electricity, up from 27 per cent in August and 30 per cent last September, while solar contributed 4 per cent. Output from both wind and solar fluctuated widely, peaking at 76 per cent and 21 per cent respectively but falling close to zero at times.
Edwina Nyhan, Gas Networks Ireland’s director of strategy and regulation, said cooler and wetter weather had driven the sharp rise in household consumption and gas remained vital for electricity stability when renewable output dipped.
Gas Networks Ireland also announced a new €50 million biomethane plant in Kildare with Evergreen Agricultural Enterprises. The facility will convert by-products from Ireland’s distilling industry into renewable biomethane to heat 8,000 homes and cut emissions by 20,000 tonnes a year.
Ms Nyhan said the plant was an example of Irish industry turning waste into clean energy and marked growing momentum in the national biomethane market.
