The Italian government plans to reduce natural gas consumption in the next few months by 7%. According to the authorities, the set goal can be achieved by increasing coal consumption, as well as by reducing energy consumption in general.

According to the plan, Italy intends to reduce gas consumption by 8.2 billion cubic meters by March next year as part of the EU’s goals to reduce dependence on natural gas by 15%. According to estimates of the Italian government, from the beginning of August this year to the end of March 2023, the total volume of consumed gas will amount to about 55 billion cubic meters.

Gas consumption chart in Italy

At the same time, until March 2023, the actual reduction in gas consumption in Italy will be 7 per cent or 3.6 billion cubic meters, according to the agreement with the European Commission, which considered the volume of gas contained in Italian gas storages.

Against the background of a sharp decrease in the purchase of Russian gas due to the military conflict in Ukraine, many European countries are taking various measures to minimize the negative consequences for their consumers and energy systems. According to calculations by the Italian Ministry of Finance, this year the country may spend up to €100 billion on energy imports from other sources, twice as much as a year earlier.

Earlier, we reported that Germany might start rationing natural gas consumption.