The efforts requested of households by the European Commissioner are part of the European plan to reduce gas consumption by 15%.
To spend the winter without energy problems, Brussels is also calling on households to make an effort. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, recommended Wednesday evening to lower the heating a little next winter.
“I strongly advise all our French compatriots and our fellow Europeans, during this summer, for those who have an air conditioner, not to put it too high, and then in winter, to lower it perhaps by one or two degrees, or three degrees, the temperature“, he said on BFM Business.
Because, according to the former French minister, individuals can help the EU achieve its goal of reducing gas consumption. At the end of July, the European Commission urged member states to reduce it by 15% between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, compared to their average consumption over the past five years. And this, in order to face the threat of a stoppage of Russian gas deliveries and thus avoid electricity or gas rationing measures.
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The Japanese example
“It’s not an obligation, it’s a recommendation. We’ll see if it should ever become mandatory“, insisted Thierry Breton on Wednesday. All stakeholders are asked to take part in the effort: individuals therefore, but also electricity suppliers, industrialists, or even public administrations.
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This objective of 15% reduction in gas consumption, and the efforts required of households on heating, are based on a historical example, explained the European Commissioner. “We took these figures because we are instructed in history. In Japan, when there was the Fukushima disaster, […] the Japanese decided for a time to freeze the operation of their nuclear power plants. […] It was decided at that time, not like us, once again it is a recommendation at this stage, to reduce household consumption by 15%. It consisted of lowering the temperature by 2 to 3 degrees during the winter“, he developed. For Thierry Breton, “these are doable things but you will have to be disciplined“.
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