Member states of the European Union have reached a political agreement to reduce natural gas demand by 15% from 2017 to 2021 on average.
On Tuesday, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela presided over an extraordinary European Union (EU) Council meeting on energy, with the EU preparing for anticipated gas supply interruptions this winter.
"Member states decided to lower their gas demand by 15% relative to their average consumption in the previous five years, between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023, with measures of their own choosing," the European Council said in a statement, media reported.
"Possible options include reducing gas use in the electrical sector, encouraging fuel switching in industry, national awareness-raising efforts, targeted obligations to reduce heating and cooling, and market-based initiatives such as company auctioning." There are a few exceptions to the 15% objective.
Island states such as Malta, Cyprus and Ireland are exempted since they are not interconnected to the EU's gas network. Other derogations include member states that have already exceeded their gas storage filling target, those whose industries are heavily dependent on gas as feedstock, and those whose gas consumption has increased by at least eight percent in the past year compared to the average of the past five years.
A "Union Alert" could be issued by the European Commission if it believes there is a "significant risk of a severe gas shortage or particularly high gas demand," or if "five or more member states that have declared an alert at the national level request the Commission to do so."
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