In 2024, total final energy consumption in the EU services sector was 4 971 petajoules (PJ), slightly up from 4 886 PJ in 2023 (+1.7%). Between 1990 and 2024, energy use in the sector rose by 25%.
The services sector’s share of final energy consumption in 2024 was 13.5%, much smaller than that of transport activities (32.3%), households (26.0%) and the industry sector (24.5%), only exceeding agriculture, forestry and fishing (3.6%).
Electricity (52.0%) and natural gas (25.4%) accounted for more than three-quarters of the final energy consumption of the sector, followed by renewables and biofuels at 8.7%. Heat accounted for 7.7%, oil and petroleum products for 5.6%, and the remaining 0.6% was related to other energy products, such as coal or waste.
Source dataset: nrg_bal_s
Which services consumed the most energy?
In 2024, the largest services sub-sector in the EU was wholesale and retail trade, with a final energy consumption of 1 021 PJ, representing 21.2% of all final consumption by services.
The wholesale and retail trade sub-sector was followed by human health and social work activities, with 506 PJ (10.5%) and accommodation and food service activities, with 503 PJ (10.5%). Professional, scientific, technical activities and other services followed with a consumption of 492 PJ (10.2%).
Source dataset: nrg_d_serq_n