According to preliminary estimates, German electricity demand for 2002 fell for the first time since 1994 by 3TWh (0.5%) as compared to 2001. This fall in demand is due to the economic recession and the effect of energy efficiency savings. Previously, there had been a steady increase of about 1% per year since 1993.
In 2002, the main contribution to the total consumption of 578TWh came from lignite and nuclear energy, each providing 28% of German electricity. Hard coal made up for 26%, natural gas 9%, and wind energy 3%.
