EC seeks views on energy security risks, including LNG
Date: September 6th 2024
Author: Siobhan Hall, Montel
Category: En.vision
Topic:
Electricity
, Natural gas
The European Commission is inviting comments on whether the EU’s gas and electricity security rules need updating to reflect new realities, such as now relying on LNG for nearly half of the bloc’s imports.
US LNG filled much of the gap after pipeline supplies from Russia plummeted after the war in Ukraine started, and the EU has a goal to wean itself off all Russian gas imports by 2027.The EC asks in a survey for views on the risks associated with more LNG imports, such as exposure to global market price fluctuations, infrastructure bottlenecks or overcapacity, and how to address them.
It also asks if and how EU level action and coordination has become more or less important for energy security with the phase out of Russian gas and rise in LNG imports.
Cross-sectoral risk
EU policies to increase cross-border flows of power and gas and link the sectors could increase the risk of cascading effects, where a problem in one part of the system impacts other areas.The EC asks what the key risks are, such as shortages of critical gas volumes for power generation or power outages reducing output of renewable and low-carbon gases, and how to tackle them.
It also asks if the EU needs to improve cybersecurity rules to protect systems that are becoming more digital and dependent on the internet.
Interested parties have until 26 November to respond to both the detailed survey and a more general call for evidence on how effective the EU’s gas supply security regulation from 2017 and its electricity risk preparedness regulation from 2019 have been.
The goal is to identify what has worked well and what could be improved across both sectors, taking account of the change in geopolitics with the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the EU’s efforts to decarbonise its economy by 2050.
The results will help shape the EU’s policy priorities for the next five-year mandate, which starts in November, said the EC.
This article is available also in Slovene.
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