The European Commission (EC) plans to extend its call for voluntary natural gas reduction measures until next year, said energy commissioner Kadri Simson.
“We cannot let our guard down on gas security of supply,” she said Thursday during a press conference one year after the European Union (EU) rolled out a plan to cut its reliance on Russian energy known as REPowerEU.
The EC request for the continent’s gas consumers to cut demand by 15% is set to expire this month. Kadri said the request would be extended through next year, adding that it’s “the best guarantee to achieve an adequate level of storage by November.”
The bloc is aiming to have its storage inventories 90% full before next winter. Simson said gas demand between August and January was cut by 1.5 Tcf. While storage inventories are likely to end the winter above 50% of capacity, a warm winter and higher prices have helped curb demand.
“We may also still have a difficult summer ahead of us, not only winter, with high temperatures and drought influencing electricity production and consumption,” Simson said Thursday. “So, we are still in uncharted waters and we must reinforce preparedness.”
Reflecting on the EU’s efforts to cut its reliance on Russian energy, Simson said Europe has cut imports of Russian pipeline gas to 706 Bcf so far this year. That’s down from 5.5 Tcf in 2021 before Russia invaded Ukraine and cut off supplies to the continent.
LNG imports, she said, increased from 2.8 Tcf in 2021 to 4.8 Tcf last year. Moreover, in less than one year, the EU added 8 floating storage and regasification units to boost import capacity, which is on track to reach 8 Tcf by 2024 from the current level of about 6 Tcf.
Russia was a major part of the spike in liquefied natural gas imports last year. The country was Europe’s third largest LNG supplier in 2022, despite the drop in pipeline gas deliveries, which were once its top gas supply source.
“We can and should get rid of Russian LNG completely, as soon as possible, still keeping in mind our security of supply,” Simson said. She did not offer a timeline for weaning the bloc off Russian LNG, but said not renewing existing contracts would help.
Simson also said the bloc cut carbon emissions by 2.5% last year, when it used less natural gas, keeping it on track to reach stringent environmental targets. But she also said high prices, supply chain disruptions and red tape are hampering renewables development across the country and jeopardizing climate goals.
“We must do better on the renewables side to progress on REPowerEU,” she said.
The EC also announced on Friday a provisional agreement with the European Parliament and Council to strengthen energy efficiency measures as part of the REPowerEU plan and the European Green Deal, which is the bloc’s long-term strategy to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
The agreement establishes an energy efficiency target of 11.7% for 2030, exceeding the Commission’s original proposal. It would require EU member states to reduce primary energy consumption compared to energy forecasts made in 2020.
Larger energy consumers in the private sector would also be required to implement energy management systems under the agreement. The public sector would be required to more carefully consider efficiency measures in its procurement of products, services, buildings and work, as well.
The agreement requires formal adoption by the European Parliament and Council before it goes into effect.
