Energy is becoming more efficient.

Energy consumption has fallen to the lowest level since the turn of the millennium, as renewable sources and the more efficient use of electricity become more widespread.

Malta generated a “gross inland energy consumption” of 0.8 Mtoe (million tons of oil equivalent) in 2013, according to statistics published yesterday by the EU’s data office Eurostat.

This is 0.2 Mteo less than the previous year and equivalent to the consumption level of the year 2000. A similar trend is being seen in the EU, where consumption has gone down across the continent and is back to levels last seen in the 1990s.

The reasons for this lower consumption from the traditional sources are twofold, Eurostat sources explained.

Energy is becoming more efficient, so consumers need to use less of it to obtain the same effect. At the same time, renewable energy such as that generated by photovoltaic panels and other means is becoming cheaper and more affordable for consumers. The overall effect is a decline in the demand for energy.

The Eurostat figures also show that in 2013 Malta topped the list of EU countries when it comes to energy dependency, importing 100 per cent of its oil to produce energy.

While Luxembourg was a close second with 96.9 per cent and Cyprus with 96.4 per cent, on average the EU imported just over half its energy from outside the bloc.

While the Maltese government had promised to start using natural gas as from next month, the target has now been pushed to 2016 at the earliest.

In 2013, nuclear energy (29 per cent) accoun­ted for the largest share of EU domestic production of energy, ahead of renewables (24 per cent), solid fuels (20 per cent), gas (17 per cent).