BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.20. Despite a strong decline in the first eleven months of 2022, additional gas demand reduction will be needed in Europe to limit risks of shortages this winter, Trend reports with reference to Oxford Institute of Energy Studies (OIES).
“The EU and national governments face a hard balancing act: incentivizing customers to save energy while, at the same time, protecting them (and the economy) from the worst impacts of record-high gas and energy prices. Key factors to keep an eye on will be the pace of return of French nuclear reactors, the willingness and ability of consumers to continue adapting their usual behavior in order to use less energy (especially during cold days in the winter), and as a consequence, the evolution of temperatures in the next few weeks because a cold winter is likely to derail most demand-response measures, and finally, the depth of a looming economic recession,” reads the latest report released by OIES.
The report reveals that participation of consumers in demand saving measures in buildings is going to be essential this winter to limit a sudden surge in gas demand during the coldest days.
“But there are two main uncertainties: first, there have been concerns that government intervention in subsidizing energy bills and inappropriate (and/or late) campaigns to save energy could send mixed signals and help keep consumption high; and second, that consumers’ willingness to reduce their energy for heating may erode when cold temperatures finally hit Europe. The early days of December, when temperatures across Europe plunged below their 5-year average, seem to confirm the latter with a sharp rise in gas demand for heating in the residential and commercial sectors (though the impact was not, and is never going to be, uniform across Europe due to differences in weather and in the role of gas for space heating).”
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