Government: Hungarian families have the cheapest gas in Europe

In preparation for the next heating season, domestic gas storage facilities have been filled continuously since April; the amount of gas reserves has now reached 3.9 billion cubic metres, or the level of the full-year retail consumption in 2021, the last year before the energy crisis, the energy ministry told MTI on Friday.

Compared with last year’s figures, the picture is even more favourable as households used 3.4 billion cubic metres of gas in 2022, the ministry said.

Hungarian families continue to have the cheapest access to natural gas in Europe thanks to price subsidies guaranteed in the 2024 central budget, the ministry said. Citing the energy crisis caused by the war and the sanctions imposed in response, the government has raised the amount of the protected state gas reserves by 50 percent to 1.9 billion cubic metres in order to guarantee secure energy supply, they added.

Including economic players, gas consumption fell by 17 percent in 2022, partly due to milder weather and partly to savings.