How Europe plans to cut gas usage

From shortening shower times, driving more slowly and fining shopkeepers for not locking their doors, Europeans are embarking on a target to reduce energy use in time for winter, and some citizens have taken to social media to share their experiences .

For example, German Christopher Hipp offered advice on Twitter on how to defrost a freezer, saying that the more frost-free the kitchen appliance is, the more electricity is saved.

Cindy, who lives in the Netherlands, shared her attempts to shower within a time target of 5 minutes – failing by 6 minutes and 21 seconds. “It took 48 seconds for the shower to get hot,” she tweeted.

Ruud Vuik and his daughter, who also live in the Netherlands, tried the same thing by using a blue water droplet-shaped shower timer for a week, which starts at 5 minutes before running into a lit alarm.

These targets are part of the EU’s wider effort to reduce demand for natural gas this winter, with an arsenal of methods at their disposal.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, in July agreed a voluntary target to cut gas use by 15% by March 2023, compared to average consumption from 2016 to 2021.

These are what some of the EU governments have recommended:

France

President Emmanuel Macron called for a 10% reduction in gas use and warned that forced energy savings would be on the table if voluntary efforts proved insufficient. Russian gas imports account for 15% of France’s gas consumption, making it less dependent on Russia than most of its EU counterparts.

• The lights from the iconic Eiffel Tower will be turned off about an hour earlier at 11:45 p.m., the mayor of Paris announced on September 13.
• Shop owners who leave air-conditioned shop doors open will be fined 750 euros ($751).
• Illuminated advertisements will be banned from 1 am to 6 am

Germany

Germany has been the most exposed to Russian gas supply disruptions. Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck issued a statement introducing a series of measures that came into effect on September 2 in hopes of reducing gas use by around 2%.

• Public buildings are heated up to 19 degrees Celsius.
• Shop windows are prohibited from lighting at night.
• Heating of private swimming pools is prohibited.

Austria

Austria is also heavily dependent on Russian gas, receiving over 80% from Moscow in previous years. Last week, Austria’s climate department launched an energy-saving campaign called “Mission 11”, with these recommendations:

• Drive slower to save energy – with a suggested speed limit of 100 km/h
• Regular defrosting of the freezer.
• Reduce shower time.

Spain

While Spain is not as dependent as other EU members on Russian gas, which accounted for 14.5% of its imports, Spain’s Parliament has agreed to an 8% reduction in gas use.

• Air conditioning temperatures in most public buildings and businesses should not be set below 27 degrees Celsius in summer. And the heating should not be above 19 degrees Celsius during the winter.
• The doors of the air-conditioned shops should be closed.
• No lighting at night of the exteriors of shops or public monuments.

finland

While 75% of Finland’s gas supply consisted of Russian imports, the country is not as sensitive to Moscow’s excesses. Natural gas accounts for less than 6% of total energy consumption in Finland. In the last week of August, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment announced a campaign entitled “One step lower”, which aims to get 75% of Finns to reduce their energy consumption by:

• Lowering the temperature of the house on a thermostat.
• Use less electronics, less light sources.
• Limit showers to 5 minutes.

Ital

Italy imported close to 40% of its gas from Russia last year. According to an initiative by the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition, the country aims to reduce gas consumption by 7% (5.3 billion cubic meters) by March:

• The thermostat in industrial buildings should be lowered by one degree to 17 degrees Celsius.
• The thermostat temperatures of the residential blocks are set at 19 degrees Celsius.
• Radiators should be turned off for at least one hour a day.

Netherlands

The Dutch government launched a campaign in April in an effort to reduce dependence on Russian gas, which accounts for about 12.5% ​​of the Netherlands’ gas use.

• Taking a 5 minute shower.
• Turn down the central heating.

Some reports estimate that if Europe can reduce its gas use by 15% by March 2023, the region will be able to weather the winter despite limited supplies and high energy prices.

“We’re already there … savings this month have already exceeded the 15% target,” said Goldman Sachs senior energy strategist Samantha Dart.

It added that estimated gas consumption in northwest Europe in August was 13% below average.

“We believe these are more than enough savings to get us through the winter without a heating disruption or crisis,” Dart said, assuming the average winter weather scenario holds.

However, according to another analyst, this target seems ambitious, especially as the winter season begins.

This time period is when household consumption for heating “far exceeds industrial demand”, which is already down by 20-30% in most of Europe, Eurasia Group director Henning Gloystein said.

“Achieving the 15% reduction target versus business as usual will be difficult, but not impossible,” Gloystein told CNBC.

If Europe manages a sustained destruction of demand and access to alternative gas supplies, a “severe rationing” can be avoided, Gloystein added.

He said an “immediate reduction” in household consumption could come at the same time as most EU gas tariffs rise on October 1, on top of aggressive media campaigns by governments.

However, Henning warned that this will come at a price.

“This will almost certainly come at the cost of an EU recession over the winter, which will hit low-income households and small industries hardest,” he said.

A cold winter could also make it difficult to achieve needed demand reductions, but also raise the possibility of supply disruptions from Norway, where offshore platforms in the North Sea must be evacuated during storms, Henning said.

“If just one or two of the required measures don’t work, the situation could become quite serious, very quickly.”