The EU plan: Deviating from this, the cut drops to -7%
– Exceptionally, the reduction in gas consumption can be reduced from -15% to -7%. This is the provision of the new Gas Contingency Plan text approved by the Energy Council. The mandatory 8-point demand reduction will be triggered “provided that States demonstrate that their interconnection with other Member States in technical export capacity is less than 50% compared to their annual gas consumption in 2021 and that the capacity on the Interconnecting pipelines to other Member States were actually used at least 90% for gas transport up to the previous month,” the text reads.
Exception to reductions for full deposits and 8% additional consumption
– The Gas Consumption Reduction Plan agreed by the Energy Council provides that “Member States may also apply for an exemption if they have exceeded their fill targets for gas deposits, if they are heavily dependent on the raw material gas of critical industries or if their gas consumption has been in the last year has increased by at least 8% compared to the average of the last five years.
The reference to the price cap
– The price cap for anti-speculative gas is also mentioned in the new text, but only in the preamble as a possibility. “Furthermore, at the request of the European Council, the Commission, together with our international partners, is examining ways to stem the rise in energy prices, including the possibility of introducing temporary caps on import prices, and is continuing work on optimizing the functioning of the European electricity market,” the text reads .
EU Energy Commissioner: “We must face this crisis now”
– “We have to act now, we have to prepare, we have to face this crisis together now, and for that we should reduce our demand in advance; this will allow us to continue filling our underground deposits, which today are at 66%”. This was stated by the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.
“Reduced deliveries? Not a technical reason, but a political one”
– The commissioner stressed that there is “no technical reason” for Gazprom’s reduction in gas supplies. “It’s a politically motivated move and we have to be ready. It is precisely for this reason that we have to preventively reduce our gas requirements, that is the smartest strategy.”
To a journalist who asked whether the original proposal would not be weakened by the introduction of many exemptions wanted by member states in relation to the 15% reduction in gas consumption, which would become mandatory in the event of a declaration of a European state vigilant, Simson replied : “As you know, the Commission proposed a regulation a week ago and our proposal should send a message of unity and solidarity, because the amounts of gas that we do not use in one country help other Member States that are facing very difficult challenges could, “because they are more dependent on Russian gas. “I think it is important to emphasize that the filling of our storage depots in the EU is still ongoing. This means – stressed Simson – that our member states have more gas in the last few weeks The aim is for the warehouses to be 80% full by the end of October in order to be able to to be prepared for the winter season.
Cingolani: “Almost independent from Russia by winter” –
“With the onset of winter, we will be almost independent of Russian supplies.” This was stated by the Minister for Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, speaking on gas during the public session of the Energy Affairs Council. “In the next year – he added – the situation will be quite secure, with no major dependencies on Moscow. In fact, no dependencies on Russia.”
Fly the price of gas to Europe
– The gas price flies to Europe with the new cut in supplies by Russia. In Amsterdam, the price increases by 9.2% to 193 euros per megawatt hour and reaches the level of early March last year. Prices in London are also up, rising 10.8% to 355p in Mmbtu.