Ireland to seek flexibility on EU proposals for emergency cuts to gas consumption

Ireland is to seek flexibility on European Union proposals forcing a 15 per cent reduction in gas use in an emergency, The Irish Times has learned.

Proposals from the European Commission this week outlined that member states should reduce gas use by 15 per cent across the next eight months — and while this would be voluntary, it could become mandatory in an emergency.

The aim is to refill European gas reserves ahead of and during a winter which is expected to be dominated by geopolitically-driven interruptions to the supply of Russian gas to the continent.

[ EU solidarity frays as some member states question plan to slash gas use ]

[ Ireland not reliant on Russian gas but cut in supplies could impact costs, Taoiseach says ]

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said the move was necessary due to the “weaponisation” of energy supplies by Russia.

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However, senior sources said they believed there was sufficient flexibility within the draft regulations that would allow Ireland a carve-out from any mandatory approaches. They said Ireland would support the regulation but that it “doesn’t make sense for us … that the same measures have to apply” due to Ireland’s lack of connection to the wider European gas system.

Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan is meeting his counterparts in Europe on Tuesday, and officials met counterparts in Brussels on Friday. The Minister is expected to outline how, due to the structure of gas supply into Ireland, almost all Irish gas comes either from the Corrib field or via the UK, which is in turn supplied from its own reserves in the North Sea and from Norway.

If Ireland was to reduce the amount of gas it uses, experts say a deal would effectively have to be brokered with the UK to send an equivalent amount of gas to Europe via its interconnections to the continent, as Ireland does not have a gas pipeline to Europe.

Ireland is expected to offer a range of options and policies which would reduce gas use, some of which are already in play. Government sources believe several other European countries are likely to seek exemptions or derogations from the new instrument.

If approved, the new regulation would give the commission the power to declare a “union alert” on security of supply, imposing a mandatory gas demand reduction on all member states.

A union alert would be triggered when there is a substantial risk of a severe gas shortage or an exceptionally high gas demand.

The draft regulation contains some indication of flexibilities, saying member states may “request to limit the mandatory demand reduction by a maximum of 5 per cent” provided they could demonstrate that they could not substantially contribute to increasing the direct or indirect supply of gas to other member states due to a lack of interconnection.

The EU is urging that consumers and states should take measures to save gas, while the commission is also set to accelerate work on joint purchasing of gas to strengthen its hand when sourcing alternative gas deliveries.