The European Commission should ask member states next week to limit heating to 19 degrees and air conditioning to 25 degrees in public buildings, to reduce the continent’s demand for gas, according to a draft text consulted by AFP.
To better withstand the drastic drop in Russian supplies, or even their possible cessation, Brussels is identifying measures for the Twenty-Seven to reduce European consumption by between 25 and 60 billion m3.
In detail, some 11,000 million m3 would come from reductions in heating or cooling of buildings, between 4,000 and 40,000 million m3 would be saved in gas demand for electricity production, and between 10,000 and 11,000 million in industrial demand, since face down. of sky-high prices.
The plan calls for states to enact binding restrictions on heating and cooling in public buildings.
In addition, “significant savings can be achieved by deploying alternative heat sources for district heating, heat pumps” in private homes, the Commission stresses. It also calls for communication campaigns to encourage households to lower the thermostat by 1 degree this winter.
Breakouts Could “Lead” Certain Industries
However, “protected customers” (in the sense of European legislation: households, social services, SMEs) represent less than 37% of total consumption in the EU and “simulations show that they would not be affected at scale” by the gas shortage, says Commission.
Therefore, it prefers to target power plants and industry, large consumers.
Sudden interruptions in supply “could weigh down industries that have little room to suddenly reduce their production or switch to other fuels, because they use gas as a raw material,” especially in chemicals, warns the European executive.
But “it would be significantly less expensive to moderately reduce demand over a longer period, starting earlier,” he adds.
To encourage the movement, Brussels proposes to the Twenty-seven to establish “auction systems”, possibly covering several countries, which would offer companies “compensation” in exchange for a reduction in their consumption.
In the event of a total rupture as of July (of the Russian supply), the filling of European gas reserves could only be 65% to 71% before winter, the Commission alarms, citing forecasts from the European network of gas operators. gas transportation.
These proposals from Brussels will be at the center of a meeting of European energy ministers on July 26 in Brussels.
Source: BFM TV
