The European Commission proposed this Monday to extend, for one year, the emergency legislation so that Member States voluntarily reduce gas consumption by 15%, in order to “guarantee security of supply and price stability.”
The objective of voluntarily reducing gas consumption in the EU by 15% came into force last August and established as an objective that Member States reduce their consumption of natural gas by 15% (compared to the historical average in that period , considering the years from 2017 to 2021), until March 31 of this year, the date on which this emergency law expired, one of the main measures adopted by the community block to face the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine .
After the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, revealed last week, before the European Parliament, that Brussels intended to extend, beyond this month of March, the objective of the Member States to reduce gas consumption, as well as the obligation to reduce electricity consumption at peak hours -another measure adopted last year-, the Commission formalized this Monday the proposal regarding gas consumption.
Brussels argues that, “in the context of a difficult global gas market, it is important for Europe to ensure it is prepared for the coming winter”, and “continued gas savings will help the EU meet its gas storage targets and maintain the supply. stability”, noting that “lower and better managed demand can also help reduce price volatility”.
The Commission stresses that “thanks to voluntary contributions, gas demand in the EU fell by more than 19% between August 2022 and January 2023, exceeding the 15% target and saving Europe around €42 billion.” cubic meters of gas”, which “contributed significantly to alleviate the pressure of Russian supply cuts”.
According to this Monday’s proposal, the voluntary objective of reducing gas demand by 15%, which was agreed for the period between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, will be maintained until March 2024. .
In addition, and always according to the proposal of the community executive, the Member States must communicate the savings data on a monthly basis, instead of doing it every two months, and the reports must begin to be made by sectors, “in order to improve control and the targeting of national measures”.
This proposal will be discussed on the 27th at the next meeting of the Council of Energy Ministers, scheduled for March 28.
“Our collective efforts to reduce gas demand have been key to getting through this winter safely. We have made good progress diversifying supply and reducing our dependence on Russia, but global gas markets are likely to continue adjusted in the coming months. Further reductions in gas demand will ensure that we are prepared for the coming winter and will facilitate the achievement of the target of 90% gas storage by November 1,” said Commissioner Kadri Simson on Monday.
Source: TSF
