Member-states of the European Union reached an agreement for the plan of gas demand reduction by 15% until March 31, 2023, the EU Council said in its press release on Tuesday, TASS reports.

“In an effort to increase EU security of energy supply, member states today reached a political agreement on a voluntary reduction of natural gas demand by 15% this winter. The Council regulation also foresees the possibility to trigger a ‘Union alert’ on security of supply, in which case the gas demand reduction would become mandatory,” the EU Council said.

“The purpose of the gas demand reduction is to make savings ahead of winter in order to prepare for possible disruptions of gas supplies from Russia,” the EU Council noted.

EU member-states “agreed to reduce their gas demand by 15% compared to their average consumption in the past five years, between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023, with measures of their own choice,” according to the statement.

At the same time, “the Council specified some exemptions and possibilities to request a derogation from the mandatory reduction target, in order to reflect the particular situations of member states and ensure that the gas reductions are effective in increasing security of supply in the EU,” the EU Council added.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency