Spain expects EU to agree on a gas use cut lower than 15%

Spain expects European Union member countries to reach an agreement on Tuesday to cut natural gas use during the winter by less than 15% and on a voluntary basis, Energy Minister Teresa Ribera said. "I think we will see an agreement, we all understand that when someone asks for help, we have to answer," Ribera told reporters in Brussels ahead of an EU meeting.

Spain expects European Union member countries to reach an agreement on Tuesday to cut natural gas use during the winter by less than 15% and on a voluntary basis, Energy Minister Teresa Ribera said.

"I think we will see an agreement, we all understand that when someone asks for help, we have to answer," Ribera told reporters in Brussels ahead of an EU meeting. "Help can take different forms, but the spirit of collaboration will prevail." Preparing for potential Russian supply cuts, the European Commission proposed emergency rules last week that would require each member country to cut its gas use by 15% from August to March. The target would be voluntary, but the Commission could make it binding in a supply emergency.

EU countries are expected to approve a weakened version of the proposal, with opt-outs allowing them to follow different national paths. Spain, which has invested heavily in infrastructure to import and re-export natural gas to the rest of the 27-country EU, opposes forcing consumers and companies to cut gas use.

"It is right for us all to take net savings commitment (but) 15%, added to all that (regasification) effort was very difficult," Ribera said in Brussels. She said a cut in gas use has to be set on a voluntary basis Ribera said Spain has the largest capacity in Europe to regasify imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and had offered to help other EU countries.

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