Europe is going to need to cut back on energy consumption in order to survive the winter.
Key Details
- The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its quarterly Gas Market Report.
- While the EU has done good at nearly meeting the IEA’s goal of 90% storage for gas supplies before winter, the report still says that Europe will need to reduce energy consumption by 13%.
- “Gas saving measures will be crucial to minimize storage withdrawals and keep inventories at adequate levels until the end of the heating season,” says the IEA.
- “Much of that cutback would have to come from consumer behavior such as turning down thermostats by one degree and adjusting boiler temperatures as well as industrial and utility conservation,” says MarketWatch.
- The IEA fears that Russia will totally cut off oil and gas supplies in the near future and force the rationing of remaining supplies.
Why it’s important
The IEA’s proposal will put further pressure on Europe to tighten consumer energy use during the height of winter. EU countries have already promised to low consumption and have implemented stringent rules about when power can be used and for how long.
“The EU on Friday agreed to mandate a reduction in electricity consumption by at least 5% during peak price hours,” says Market Watch.
“Businesses in Europe have already cut back natural gas use, sometimes simply by abandoning energy-intensive activity such as making steel and fertilizer, while smaller businesses like bakeries are feeling a severe crimp in their costs.”
Backing up a bit
As we previously reported, the EU is facing an ongoing energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine. The recent shutdown of the Nordstream pipeline has contributed to Europe’s ongoing energy crisis, creating skyrocketing energy prices, harming small businesses, forcing the nationalization of industries, and creating a need to find energy-dependent solutions.
Europe imports 30% percent of its energy from Russia.
“Europe faces ‘unprecedented risks’ to its natural gas supplies this winter after Russia cut off most pipeline shipments and could wind up competing with Asia for already scarce and expensive liquid gas that comes by ship,” says MarketWatch.
