As the European Union seeks energy security amid worries of a conflict in Ukraine involving key supplier Russia, it will investigate whether to oblige member states to fill their natural gas storage to prescribed levels, according to a senior official.
FREMONT, CA: Last year, tight supply and rising demand to drive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic drove European gas prices to new highs, prompting Brussels to work on safeguarding the energy system from supply shocks or price spikes.
Last year, tight supply and rising demand to drive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic drove European gas prices to new highs, prompting Brussels to work on safeguarding the energy system from supply shocks or price spikes.
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The EU Energy Commissioner referred to rules currently in place in some countries to bolster inventories ahead of each winter, three days after a draft paper revealed Brussels may enforce minimum gas storage standards. The Commissioner also opinionated that it had become necessary to analyse the kind of national legislation necessary at the EU level.
As seen by Reuters, the draft contains a proposal to oblige member states to ensure a minimum storage every year by Sept 30. Changes could be made in the proposal before it is published. Concerns over a potential clash grew after Russia's military claimed that Ukrainian saboteurs tried to infiltrate Russian territory in armed vehicles, a charge Kyiv disputed amid Western accusations that Moscow could invent an excuse to invade.
Gas must be stored - often in salt caverns or depleted gas fields - to balance variations in demand for days and seasons, as well as to be called upon in the event of supply disruptions, infrastructure breakdowns, or abnormally cold weather.
A year ago, European gas storage was around 40 percent and currently is at 32 percent. The EU Energy Commissioner stated that the regulations relating to gas storage would not be similar to those imposed by the International Energy Agency, which force member nations to have emergency oil stockpiles. At this moment, experts do not have plans to propose a similar kind of strategic natural gas reserve.
Most of the EU's 27 member states have already taken steps to protect consumers from growing energy costs, such as tax cuts and subsidies for low-income households.
According to the Commission document, the long-term solution to limiting countries' exposure to the costs of fossil fuel imports is to invest in renewable energy and reduce energy consumption, as planned under the EU's climate change targets, by renovating buildings or using more energy-efficient industrial processes.