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ARCHIVED - Brussels will force Spain and rest of EU to cut gas by 15 per cent if Russia cuts off exports
Spain does not foresee any “rationing or restrictions” for consumers despite the threat of a gas shortage
The European Commission has presented its ‘Save gas for a safe winter’ plan on Wednesday July 20 which includes the possibility of forcing member states to reduce their consumption of natural gas by 15% in the event that Russia decides to completely cut off the supply to Europe.
At the moment, the EC is asking countries to voluntarily cut their usage, which should be 15% of their national consumption between August of this year and April of next year. This, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said, will “buy time” this winter for countries like Germany which face inevitable shortages if Moscow carries out its threat.
Brussels has given free rein to European governments to take measures that they consider necessary to achieve this reduction and has even suggested that they resort to other energy sources such as coal or nuclear power.
"I encourage Member States to look at what they have at their disposal to get them through this winter and maybe next winter as well," Mr Breton added.
Brussels is still scrambling to find alternatives to Russian energy but the in the meantime, a saving of 15%, which is equivalent to 45 bcm of gas will enable nations to “get through the winter without too many problems in the event of a total cut-off.”
Spain has already implemented some energy-saving measures, such as reducing air conditioning usage in summer is public administration buildings, but the EC insists that “all consumers, public administrations, households, owners of public buildings, energy providers and industry" must soon play their part.
In a first reaction to the Commission's proposal, the Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, has opted for "efficiency and savings" and has already made it clear that in the national plan finalised by the Government "we do not consider the hypothesis of introducing rationing or restrictions to any type of consumer."
Image: Freepik
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