The Council of the EU has announced the approval of the Regulation on voluntary demand reduction. natural gas by 15% this winter to improve the security of the EU energy supply.

“The regulation provides for the possibility for the Council to activate the “EU alert” regarding the security of supply, in which case the reduction in demand for natural gas will become mandatory,” the report says.

It is also recalled that the goal of reducing demand for natural gas is to save resources for this winter in order to prepare for possible interruptions in the supply of natural gas from Russia, which continues to use the energy supply as a weapon. Member States have agreed to reduce gas demand by 15% compared to their average consumption over the past five years, between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, with measures of their choice. While all Member States will make every effort to implement the cuts, the Council has identified some exceptions and opportunities for partial or, in some cases, full derogations from the mandatory reduction target to reflect the specific situations of Member States and ensure that natural gas cuts are effective. means of improving the security of supply in the EU.

The Council agreed that Member States that are not connected to the gas networks of other Member States are exempt from mandatory gas cuts as they will not be able to release significant amounts of natural gas to the benefit of other Member States. Member States whose electricity networks are out of sync with the European electricity system and are more dependent on natural gas for electricity generation will also be excluded if they are de-synchronized with the network of a third country in order to avoid the risk of an electricity supply crisis. .

Member States may lower the reduction target to meet their demand reduction commitments if they have limited interconnections with other Member States and can demonstrate that their export capacity and domestic infrastructure is used to maximize the diversion of gas to other Member States.

Member States may also limit the reduction target if they have exceeded their gas storage fill targets, if they are highly dependent on gas as a feedstock for critical industries, or may use a different calculation method if their gas consumption has increased by at least 8 %. the previous year compared to the average for the past five years.

Member States agreed to strengthen the Council’s role in initiating a “Union Alert”. The notification will be activated by an executive decision of the Council on the proposal of the Commission. The Commission proposes to initiate a “Union Alert” in the event of a significant risk of a severe shortage of gas or extremely high demand for gas, or if five or more member states that have issued a national alert request the Commission to do so.

In selecting demand reduction measures, Member States agreed that they would give priority to measures that do not affect protected customers such as households and services essential to the functioning of society such as critical facilities, health care and defense. Possible measures include reducing natural gas consumption in the electricity sector, measures to encourage fuel switching in industry, national awareness campaigns, targeted commitments to reduce heating and cooling costs, and market-based measures such as intercompany auctions.

Member States will update their national contingency plans, setting out the demand reduction measures they are planning, and report regularly to the Commission on the progress of their plans.

The resolution was formally adopted through a written procedure. The adoption follows a political agreement reached by ministers at the Emergency Energy Council on 26 July. The decision will be published in the Official Gazette and will come into force the next day.

The Ordinance is an extraordinary and extraordinary measure provided for a limited period of time. It will be valid for one year and the Commission will review to consider extending it in the light of the overall EU gas supply situation until May 2023.

Source: RES-IPE