The Netherlands Calls On Large Energy Users To Reduce Consumption

The Netherlands said on Monday that large energy consumers would need to cut back on their usage beginning at the start of next year, Reuters has reported.

The restrictions are coming as part of the government’s desire to scale back CO2 emissions as well as reduce its reliance on Russian energy products.

Under the new rule, large energy consumers will be forced to invest in all possible energy savings measures, provided the investment can be recouped within a five-year span. The government will fund regulations to aid in the enforcement of such a plan.

The government said the measures would save 19 petajoules of gas and 7 petajoules of electricity per year within the first 7 years. This is the equivalent of 4 million barrels of crude.

According to the government, any amount of energy that they don’t use, won’t need to be produced.

The specific measures that need to be undertaken, designed to target those companies that use 50,000 Kwh of electricity annually or 25,000 cubic meters of gas, are now in the works.

The new rule is announced not even two weeks after the Netherlands said it would lift its current restrictions on coal-fired power plants, activating its “early warning” phase of its energy crisis plan. The Netherlands’ total coal-fired power capacity was 3.31 GW in 2020, and until the restrictions were lifted, this was set to fall to 3.18 GW by 2025, with eyes on a complete phase-out by 2030.

The Dutch government advised all of its citizens to use less gas in late March.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, the Netherlands imported 15% of all its natural gas from Russia, and while it has found some alternate sources of LNG, analysts say it could still face a shortage this winter.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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