Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen asked member states to reduce the target capacity of their gas storage facilities to 80 percent of capacity, which is 10 percentage points below the Union’s official target. According to the letter cited by the paper, this needs to be done “as soon as possible in the filling season, in order to guarantee safety and reassure market participants.”
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gas prices in Europe jumped by as much as 35 percent on Thursday after Iranian and Israeli attacks damaged some of the key gas infrastructure facilities in the Middle East. It is estimated that it will probably take several years to repair the damage.
Jorgensen said in the letter that the EU’s energy supply “remains relatively secure” but called for a “joint response” to the conflict. He also warned that “recent events suggest that the return of liquefied natural gas production to pre-crisis levels could take longer,” FT reports.
Gas stocks in warehouses are crucial because they enable Europe to meet the winter demand for heating and electricity, thus supporting the region’s energy security.
“We need to make the targets more flexible,” an EU official told the newspaper, Index reports.
As a result, back on Wednesday, the Commission ordered governments to flexibly apply EU rules on gas imports. The move is designed to prevent Russian energy phase-out legislation from inadvertently disrupting supplies critical to stabilizing supplies during the Iran crisis.
(Vijesti.ba)
