Analysis of energy demand in European countries in the period 2015-2022

This bachelor's thesis first looks at the oil crises of the 20th century and then discusses the recent energy crisis in Europe, which began in 2022. It thus provides valuable insights into energy issues by drawing on examples from the past while noting current events. The research also examines the demand for energy by households. A regression analysis of panel data on all households in 22, respectively 24 countries belonging to the EU27 is performed. The analysis thus examines the factors behind the change in the amount of natural gas and electricity demanded by EU households over the time period 2015-2022. The contribution of this research is thus its timeliness and broad coverage of household consumption behaviour in most European countries. The research concludes that the most important determinants in households' consumption of natural gas and electricity are household net disposable income and energy prices. This provides interesting insights into the price, income and cross-price elasticities of demand for these energies. It was also possible to uncover other important variables determining household energy consumption: the proportion of people with higher education in households and the HDD index. The results show that a 1% increase in the proportion of people with higher education in households reduces total household consumption by 0.15 % for electricity and further by 1.14 % for natural gas. The relationship between energy consumption and the HDD index came out positive, as more energy is required for heating at lower temperatures.