Europe's 12bcm shortfall for winter IEA Executive Director Puts Forward Urgent Measures for Europe to Prevent Major Gas Crunch
06:51 AM EDT, 07/18/2022 (MT Newswires) -- International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol proposed five immediate measures Europe can take to prevent a major gas crunch amid Russia's latest moves to squeeze natural gas flows.
In a Monday commentary, Birol said early and sustained action, consistent with climate ambitions, can reduce the European Union's reliance on Russian gas imports by one-third within a year. There has been some progress in terms of diversifying gas supplies, but more is needed on the demand side, Birol said.
Europe must fill gas storage to adequate levels before winter, and the first immediate step is to reduce gas consumption and put the saved gas into storage, and significant additional reductions are crucial, according to Birol. IEA analysis shows that the extra gas that needs to be saved over the next three months amounts to 12 billion cubic meters.
Birol proposed introducing auction platforms to incentivize EU industrial gas users to cut demand; minimize gas use in the power sector; boost coordination among gas and electricity operators, including on peak-shaving mechanisms; bringing down household electricity demand through cooling standards and controls; and, harmonizing emergency planning at the national and European levels.
"In my conversations with European leaders... I have been urging them to do all they can right now to prepare for a long, hard winter," Birol said. "It will require strong resolve and determination to see it through."