Journalist: SS. Kurniawan | Editor: SS Kurniawan

KONTAN.CO.ID – The countries of the European Union have reached a political agreement to reduce their gas consumption by next winter. Indeed, Europe is preparing for winter with uncertain supplies of Russian gas.

“It is not an impossible mission! Ministers have reached a political agreement on reducing gas demand by next winter,” wrote the Czech Republic, who holds the post of president of the European Union, in a press release. tweetTuesday (26/7), as quoted AlJazeera.

Under the agreement, EU countries will voluntarily reduce their gas consumption by 15% from August 2022 to March 2023. The gas reduction could be binding in the event of a gas supply emergency.

Read also : Russia cuts gas supply again, European economy turns bleak

But EU countries have agreed to exclude many countries and industries, after several governments rejected the bloc’s initial proposal to impose binding 15% cuts on each country.

According to EU energy policy chief Kadri Samson, the deal would result in enough gas savings to last through the winter, if Russia completely cuts off supplies by July.

“Our preliminary calculations show that even if all exceptions are fully utilized, we will achieve a reduction in demand that will help us get through the winter safely.” AlJazeera.

Read also : EU can breathe a sigh of relief, gas is coming back from Russia

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped the gas turbines for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would be installed “faster”, but they had yet to arrive after maintenance in Canada.

The statement came after Russian energy giant Gazprom announced it would cut Europe’s gas supply to just 20% of full capacity, citing maintenance.

“Yes, there are indeed defects in the turbine. The turbine has not arrived after major maintenance, it is on the way. We hope it will be installed sooner,” Peskov said, adding that other turbines also had defects.

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