Europe fears a gas crisis and launches a tough energy saving plan

Years ago, the European Commission endorsed the motto “the best energy is the one that is not used”, a way to emphasize efficiency and energy savings to make the ecological transition. The correlative of the Russian attack on Ukraine in the form of European sanctions against Moscow and the gradual closure of Russian gas shipments to Europe bring that slogan back into fashion.

Europeans need to start spending less energy now, from this 40-degree northern summer across much of the continent, if they are to get through the coming winter without major restrictions and with the industry running.

While the energy ministers of the 27 member states will discuss medium- and long-term measures in Brussels on the 26th to reform the electricity market and contain prices running for the increase in the value of gas, the European Commission is aiming this Wednesday on measures short term.

Alternative gas suppliers (Azerbaijan via pipeline and countries like UAE, Nigeria or USA with LNG carrier) they will not be able to replace all the shortage of Russian gas overnight.

Measures

The president of the European Commission, Úrsula Von der Leyen, presents this Wednesday a list of proposals that must be applied by governments.

With the name “Save gas for a safe winter”, most are national measures and the competition is national, but some have. a significant political cost that the European executive wants to standardize. One way to make governments able to say “Brussels proposes”.

The proposals would be for that these measures are mandatory for citizens and businesses, not just advice. The European Commission believes that the time has come to act now “to reduce the impact of a sudden supply disruption by a third”.

The gas that can be imported now and is not used will go to the reserves to spend the winter.

The list of proposals is well fed. These are some:

1- Prohibition to set the air conditioning thermostat below 25 degrees in public buildings or shopping centers.

Two- Prohibition to put it above 19 degrees from the fall.

3- Economic incentives for industry to reduce its energy consumption e switch from gas to other fuels when it is possible. To do this, moreover, the control of polluting emissions will be temporarily relaxed. Brussels wants the measures to be approved now, in weeks, and to be implemented as soon as possible.

It is a question, said Von der Leyen on Wednesday, “to avoid an imbalance between supply and demand during the coming winter”. In Old Castilian: having to turn off the tap to industry.

If it is necessary to ration gas to industry to keep homes heated, it will do so by following a series of marked steps. It would not be cut to strategic companies, such as health, defense and others.

Nor would it apply to companies necessary for the production of essential products such as medicines.

The gas would be cut off first to companies that can use other fuels.

Companies that have to work continuously to avoid damage to their facilities would be avoided. In Belgium, the example of some industrial furnaces was given.

energy emergency

The next step remains to be taken, but it could come at the beginning of the fall if the savings are not enough and if the gas reserves are not full. It would be a matter of declaring a sort of European energy emergency that allows governments limit consumption to certain customersfirst to businesses than to citizens.

Households consume 37% of all gas used in Europe. Of the 27 EU countries, 18 have gas storage systems.

A total of 100,000 million cubic meters of gas can be stored in Europe, the approximate equivalent of a quarter of consumption.

The calculations to know if it will be possible to spend the next winter without constraints depend a lot on the temperatures of this summer and on the intensity of the cold of the next autumn-winter.

The warmer the rest of July and August, the higher the consumption of air conditioners. The colder, the higher the consumption for heating.

Brussels, special

CB