The European Commission and EU ministers presented a plan to reduce gas consumption over the next months to weather what is likely a very difficult winter energy-wise. They stressed that everyone will need to contribute.
This includes businesses, 447 million citizens, and, of course, their own.
The Save Gas for a Safe Winter plan, which aims to reduce gas use by 15% between March 1 and 31, is deemed vital to allow households to heat their homes and for businesses to continue producing during the colder months in case Russia cuts gas supplies to the 27 member countries.
Moscow has so far cut off gas supplies to 12 member countries, while Nord Stream 1, which delivers Russian gas to Germany at 20% capacity, is still operating.
This is seen across Europe as a Russian attempt to blackmail them into relaxing the many sanctions it imposed on Ukraine since it began its war on that country on 24 February.
Euronews reached out and asked several governments for their plans to reduce their energy consumption.
France
A spokesperson for the French Ecological Transition Ministry told Euronews that the government has rolled out an Energy Sobriety Plan that aims for a 10% cut in energy consumption over the next two years compared to 2019.
This would not be limited to one energy source, but all.
It was announced by President Emmanuel Macron during his annual Bastille Day address — a week before the Commission proposed its gas savings plan.
France primarily depends on nuclear power, which supplies around 42% of the country’s energy requirements. Next comes oil, then biofuels and renewables, and finally coal. The Russian imports account for just 17%, 26% and 9% of France’s total gas, oil, and coal, respectively.
Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said the Sobriety Plan “is good for the planet, of course, but it is also good for getting through the winter and doing without Russian gas in the years to come”.
A spokesperson stated that the government is working to implement an existing French law, which sets the heating and cooling temperatures at 19 and 26, respectively, over the next few months.
According to the spokesperson, a one-degree difference between heating and cooling results in roughly 7% less energy consumption.
France is particularly concerned about the size of the state, where 30% of the country’s tertiary buildings stock is owned or controlled by authorities.
State employees will be asked to be more responsible, turn off unnecessary lights and appliances on standby, use public transportation whenever possible, and work remotely. The spokesperson stated that this coordination would be necessary in order to allow heating to be turned off in appropriate government buildings.
The state employs approximately 20% of France’s workforce.
Germany
A spokesperson for the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) told Euronews that “to reduce energy consumption, it makes sense to stop heating rooms in which people do not regularly spend time, such as corridors, large halls, foyers or technical rooms unless there are safety-related requirements.”
“Public facilities and office buildings are subject to ordinances. This measure is expected to last for 6 months. In close collaboration with Ministry of Labour, the BMWK will also speak to the social partners to discuss other ways of saving energy at work. They said that discussions are ongoing.
Germany is more open to Russia than France.
Oil makes up about a third, closely followed closely by gas, while coal is a distant third (about 15%) and then followed by biofuels and nuclear.
According to the, Russia supplied 55%, 35%, and 45% of the country’s oil and coal in 2021. Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations(IDDRI), a think-tank.
Lithuania
Euronews contacted a spokesperson from the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy. He stated that gas consumption in Lithuania had declined by 30% in the first half of the year. Therefore, no special recommendations are being made.
A spokesperson said that further recommendations are being prepared for government institutions on energy saving. They would include tips for using electricity, remote work, and heat temperature settings.
“Increased prices of oil products and electricity also decreased the consumption.” The state-owned companies in Lithuania help to save energy resources by providing remote work opportunities for certain employees,” they said.
Nearly 38% were accounted for by oil in Lithuania Last year’s total energy supply followed by gas (24.5%), biofuels and waste (18.8%), electricity trade with other countries (10.6%), then renewables and coal.
The Baltic country was almost entirely dependent on Russia until 2014. However, wary of Moscow’s power, Vilnius opened a Liquified Natural Gas terminal called Independence in 2014 to receive gas from other countries. It began buying oil from Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.
Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted it completely to reduce Russian gas and imports on April 1 and late May respectively.
European Commission
When asked about its plan to reduce energy consumption, the European Commission stated that it was “saving energy by closing down the Commission building.”
Miriam Garcia Ferrer, spokesperson for Miriam Garcia Ferrer, told reporters last week that “for example, during summer there are many buildings that were closed.” She added that a pilot scheme, which was initiated in 2021 to encourage services use of other buildings so that they can close, was also renewed this past year.
“We are reducing the heating/cooling system usage,” she added. She explained that the heating has been set at 19 degrees, and the cooling at 25 degrees.
According to the same source, the Commission has already reduced its total energy consumption in Brussels and Luxembourg over the period 2015-2020 by 20% by moving into high-energy performance and/or passive buildings, monitoring its energy use, ensuring that electricity consumed was only produced by green/renewable sources, and closing buildings during low-occupancy periods.
Other measures are being considered include shutting off heating/cooling at night, upgrading its lighting system with LEDs and installing sensor detectors. These will reduce consumption. Additionally, “dynamic collaboration spaces” will be created in conjunction with increased Teleworking to reduce the number buildings by half by 2030.
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