Paris, July 27 : France is determined to fill all its strategic gas storage facilities up to 100 per cent by November 1, which exceeds the goals set out by the European Commission, Energy Transformation Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said on Wednesday.
“Our objective is to fill our strategic gas storage facilities up to 100 per cent by November 1. We have set ourselves this ambitious goal. We are convinced that we need to take all measures to protect the citizens of France and get ready for winter,” Pannier-Runacher said in an interview with the TF1 French television channel.
The Minister noted that France planned to diversify its fuel supplies with gas from Algeria and Norway and liquefied natural gas from the United States. Additionally, authorities are looking into restarting the Saint Avold coal-fired power plant in the northeastern part of the country to produce electricity.
Pannier-Runacher stated that the EU plan on reduction of gas consumption was ” a very good agreement.”
On Tuesday, the EU energy ministers reached a political agreement on the so-called “Save Gas for a Safe Winter” plan on coordinated demand reduction measures for gas. The emergency plan presupposes a voluntary 15 per cent cut in natural gas consumption from August 2022 to March 2023, which the member states will institute “with measures of their own choice”.
In June, the European Union adopted new rules according to which the gas storage facilities should be filled up to 80 per cent by November 1, 2022 and up to 90 per cent in subsequent years. There are gas storage facilities in 18 of the 27 EU countries.
