EU ministers approve continued encouragement of voluntary gas demand reduction measures

The Council of the European Union formally adopted on March 25 the recommendation that encourages member states to continue reducing their gas consumption until March 31 2025, by at least 15 per cent compared to their average gas consumption in the period from April 1 2017 to March 31 2022, a statement by the Council of the EU said.

“This recommendation will help member states to take adequate supply security measures until the transposition of the directives on energy efficiency and renewables in 2025,” the statement said.

Both directives will bring structural demand reduction in the near future, while achieving EU’s decarbonisation goals, it said.

The previous regulation on demand reduction measures for gas was adopted in 2022 as an urgent response to the energy crisis caused by Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and was extended by one year in 2023.

It will cease to apply on March 31 2024.

Thanks to the demand reduction measures, the EU has succeeded in phasing out approximately 65 billion cubic metres of Russian gas in 2023, primarily in households and industries, the Council of the EU said.