by Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission will encourage EU member states to reduce their gas needs by encouraging industries to use less of it, shows a draft document seen by Reuters on Wednesday, a measure intended to anticipate future possible additional cuts in deliveries from Russia.
Brussels fears new restrictions on Russian gas exports, a hypothesis that could plunge economies into recession, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The EU executive’s plan, which is due to be unveiled on July 20, will call on member states to put in place financial incentive mechanisms for manufacturers to reduce their gas consumption and use alternative fuels in factories and power stations. electricity, while organizing information campaigns aimed at consumers so that they limit the use of their heaters and air conditioners.
According to the document, the content of which could change between now and publication, the measures intended for the industry could include auctions in order to encourage the main gas consumers to restrict their use in exchange for compensation.
By acting now, Brussels intends to ensure that as much gas as possible will remain in reserve for the winter, when household demand is peaking.
European households are ‘protected consumers’ under EU bloc rules, meaning they will be the last to be affected if there are gas restrictions.
“Early joint action at European level at this critical time for the storage process will reduce the need for a possible more painful demand reduction later in the winter, in the event of an interruption in flows from Russia”, is it written in the document.
The European Commission declined a request for comment.
For now, EU gas stocks are 62% full, well below Brussels’ target of 80% by November.
Before the war in Ukraine, Russia supplied the EU with some 40% of its gas needs. Russian deliveries are now 30% below the level observed on average over the period 2016-2021, according to the document.
Moscow has reduced or cut gas supplies to 12 member states since the start of the war on February 24, punishing some countries for refusing to make payments in rubles amid Western economic sanctions against Russia.
Russia has reduced its flows via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, whose deliveries were suspended this week as part of maintenance operations which are due to last ten days. Governments, markets and industrialists fear, however, that Moscow will put the gas pipeline back into operation later, because of the Ukrainian crisis.
(Report Kate Abnett; French version Jean Terzian)
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