On July 26, EU countries agreed to a voluntary reduction in natural gas demand by 15% this winter. How exactly this reduction will take place, the countries will choose for themselves.
In the event of a serious threat to the stability of gas supplies, the EU countries will be able to declare “Union Alert”. In this case, the restriction of gas consumption will become mandatory.
This is stated in an official statement published on the website of the Council of Europe.
Thus, the EU member states agreed to reduce gas demand by 15% compared to the average consumption over the past five years between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023.
“The goal of reducing demand for gas is to save on the eve of winter in order to prepare for possible interruptions in the supply of gas from Russia, which constantly uses energy supply as a weapon,” the document says. only the countries themselves, not the European Commission.
At the same time, the EU Council allows exceptions. Thus, EU members that are not connected to the gas networks of other states are exempted from the mandatory reduction in demand for gas.
“They will not be able to release significant volumes of pipeline gas in favor of other member states,” the statement says.
In addition, exempted countries whose electricity networks are not synchronized with the European electricity system, and at the same time produce electricity mainly from gas. This is to “avoid the risk of a power crisis”, as the EU would not be able to supply electricity to such grids in the event of a shortage.
As a reminder, the European Union is considering additional gas supplies from Nigeria as the bloc prepares for a potential reduction in supplies from Russia.
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