The European Union faces the risk of further gas supply cuts from Russia, due to the Kremlin’s weaponisation of gas exports, with almost half of our Member States already affected by reduced deliveries, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a press conference on the presentation of the plan by the EU to tackle the lack of ednergy. “Taking action now can reduce both the risk and the costs for Europe in case of further or full disruption, strengthening European energy resilience.”

Russia is weaponising its gas supplies.

We need to prepare now for further disruptions – including for a complete stop of Russian gas deliveries.

Today we present the “Save gas for a safe winter” package. It will help us to save 15% of annual gas consumption. ⬇️

— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) July 20, 2022

The Commission is therefore proposing today a new legislative tool and a European Gas Demand Reduction Plan, to reduce gas use in Europe by 15% until next spring. All consumers, public administrations, households, owners of public buildings, power suppliers and industry can and should take measures to save gas. The Commission will also accelerate work on supply diversification, including joint purchasing of gas to strengthen the EU’s possibility of sourcing alternative gas deliveries.

The Commission is proposing a new Council Regulation on Coordinated Demand Reduction Measures for Gas, based on Article 122 of the Treaty. The new Regulation would set a target for all Member States to reduce gas demand by 15% between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023. The new Regulation would also give the Commission the possibility to declare, after consulting Member States, a ‘Union Alert’ on security of supply, imposing a mandatory gas demand reduction on all Member States. The Union Alert can be triggered when there is a substantial risk of a severe gas shortage or an exceptionally high gas demand. Member States should update their national emergency plans by the end of September to show how they intend to meet the reduction target, and should report to the Commission on progress every two months. Member States requesting solidarity gas supplies will be required to demonstrate the measures they have taken to reduce demand domestically.

The Demand Reduction Plan will also help Member States identify and prioritise, within their “non-protected” consumer groups, the most critical customers or installations based on overall economic considerations and the following criteria:

Societal criticality – sectors including health, food, safety, security, refineries, and defence, as well as the provision of environmental services;
Cross-border supply chains – sectors or industries providing goods and services critical to the smooth functioning of EU supply chains;
Damage to installations – to avoid that they could not resume production without significant delays, repairs, regulatory approval and costs;
Gas reduction possibilities and product/component substitution – the extent to which industries can switch to imported components/products and the extent to which demand for products or components may be met through imports.