The head of the Federal Network Agency in Bonn (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA), Klaus Müller, welcomed the entry into force of the EU emergency plan to reduce natural gas consumption. “If all European countries save gas, it could stabilize the price, maybe even lower it and provide enough gas so that we can safely survive autumn and winter,” he said Tuesday, August 9, on air from TV channel ZDF. .

The EU’s emergency plan, which took effect on Tuesday, requires all EU countries to voluntarily reduce their gas consumption by 15% from early August to March next year, compared to average consumption over the last few years. five years during that period. The purpose of such a measure is to reduce the risks that could arise as a result of a complete interruption of gas supplies from Russia. In the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Gazprom has already drastically reduced the volume of supply of this raw material to European countries.

According to the European Commission, EU countries should save a total of 45 billion cubic meters of gas. Germany must cut its gas consumption by around 10 billion cubic meters to reach the 15% target. Muller, however, is pushing for a 20% reduction in consumption, as this is what BNetzA “needs to help us this winter and next.” At the same time, he does not consider it a good idea to switch to electric heating, as, according to him, even in the face of rising gas prices, it is much more expensive than conventional heating.