The European Commission on Thursday urged the Member States of the European Union (EU) to continue filling gas storage reserves to avoid “any eventuality this winter”, given that some have not yet reached the community target of 80%.
At European level, on average, we have already exceeded the target of 80% gas storage, which was established in the legislation of 1 November, and therefore we are satisfied with the progress made so far, but of course we cannot accommodate and I would like to see Member States continue to improve fill levels,” Community Energy Executive spokesman Tim McPhie said.
Speaking at the institution’s daily meeting in Brussels, two days after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European target had been reached, Tim McPhie admitted that “there are some Member States above or below this average”.
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Still, “we have no particular concerns with any member state because they are within the bounds of the trajectory that has been set and, as I say, we continue to encourage them to fill their storage,” the official said.
We need this to prepare for any eventuality this winter,” said Tim McPhie.
Data from the European organization Gas Infrastructure Europe, consulted this Thursday by the Lusa agency, reveal that the filling of the EU’s gas reserves has already reached 80.4%, with Portugal will have its storage completely full (100%), the only Member State in this situation.
Below the average of 80% are this Thursday Austria (66.5%), Bulgaria (61.3%), Croatia (77.1%), Hungary (63.4%), Latvia (54.9% ), the Netherlands (77.3%), Romania (73.1%). and Slovakia (79.4%), according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, available online.
On Tuesday, Ursula von der Leyen announced that the The EU has already reached the target of 80% gas storagescheduled for next November 1, speaking of “good news” to reduce dependence on Russia.
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At a time when there are fears of cutting off Russian gas supplies to the EU, new rules are in force for the storage of gas in the Community space, provided that the installations in the EU are at least 80% full before from November 1. countries should strive to reach 85%.
The idea is to avoid a winter break, as underground gas storage facilities (which exist in 18 of the 27 Member States) provide additional supplies in the event of strong demand or supply disruptions, reducing the need to import gas in addition to generally providing 25-30% of the gas consumed in the cold season.
At the end of last March, the European Commission proposed a minimum 80% of gas storage in the EU for next winter, until the beginning of November, to guarantee energy supply, a percentage that is expected to reach 90% in the coming years.
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And since only 18 countries have storage facilities on their territory, Member States without storage facilities should have access to the stocks of other.
Of the 27, only the Greece, Cyprus, Ireland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Malta and Luxembourg do not have gas storage infrastructure.
Geopolitical tensions over the war in Ukraine have affected the European energy market, as the EU imports 90% of the gas it consumes, with Russia responsible for around Four. Five% of these imports, at varying levels between Member States.
In Portugal, Russian gas represented, in 2021, less than 10% of the total imported.
Source: Observadora
