Variability of gas fuel purchase costs for the end user in 2019-2024

Abstract

The article describes changes in gas fuel purchase costs for 3 boiler rooms (belonging to housing communities) in the period from 2019 to 2024 (2024’Q3). During this time, the energy market was influenced by many factors resulting from both global and local policy. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, and in 2022, the Russian Federation launched an armed aggression against Ukraine. Gas imports from Russia were discontinued. The energy crisis and the economic recovery after the lockdown led to record gas and electricity prices. In Poland, since 2022, some customers have been protected against excessive cost increases in the form of the so-called anti-inflation shield. The article also presents an analysis of the share of individual components of the gas purchase cost and the change in gas consumption in the summer. The result of this analysis confirmed the increase in hot water consumption after the outbreak of the pandemic.