As the EU faces the risk of further disruptions to Russia’s gas supplies, the European Commission on Wednesday proposed a new legislative instrument, the European Gas Demand Reduction Plan, which aims to reduce gas use in Europe by 15% by next spring, it is shown in a release of the Executive.

All consumers, public administrations, households, owners of public buildings, energy suppliers and industry can and should take measures to save gas. The Commission will also step up work on diversifying supplies, including joint gas procurement, to strengthen the EU’s ability to secure alternative gas supplies.

The Commission is proposing a new Council Regulation on coordinated measures to reduce gas demand, based on Article 122 of the Treaty. The new regulation will 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 the Member States, a “Union alert” on security of supply, imposing a mandatory reduction in gas demand for all Member States. The Union alert can be triggered when there is a substantial risk of severe gas shortages or an exceptionally high gas demand, according to Agerpres.

Member States should update their national contingency plans by the end of September to show how they intend to achieve the goal of reducing gas demand, and should report to the Commission on progress every two months. Member States requesting emergency supply of gas will be required to demonstrate the measures they have taken to reduce domestic demand.

To help Member States achieve the necessary demand reductions, the Commission has also adopted a European Gas Demand Reduction Plan, which sets out measures, principles and criteria for the coordinated reduction of demand. The plan focuses on replacing gas with other fuels and overall energy savings in all sectors.