European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said on Thursday that she was going to propose a extension of the 15% reduction in energy consumption within the EU until 2024 as concerns still remain over energy consumption during upcoming summer and winter
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2023) European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said on Thursday that she was going to propose a extension of the 15% reduction in energy consumption within the EU until 2024 as concerns still remain over energy consumption during upcoming summer and winter.
"I am going to propose to member states to prolong the voluntary demand reduction by 15% until next year. This has worked well and it is the best guarantee to achieve an adequate level of storage by November," Simson said in her speech before the European Parliament's committee on energy.
Although the EU is in a good position and well prepared for the next heating season, one should be under no illusions about the coming months, according to the commissioner.
"Common storage policy and coordinated gas demand reduction will be needed also for this year. 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 stated.
European countries have faced an energy crisis with rising prices in the aftermath of imposing sanctions on Russia after the latter launched a military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The EU began to take contingency measures to fill its gas storage facilities ahead of the winter so as to avoid serious consequences for households and the economy of EU states.
In July, EU member states agreed to voluntarily reduce their natural gas consumption by 15% between August 2022 and March 2023 as part their effort to increase the bloc's security of energy supply amid the crisis. As a result of the measures and mild weather, EU gas storage sites were filled well above the target level of 80% by November 1.
