The new heating season is approaching and the gas supply to Europe is declining. So we have to save as much gas as possible, says Minister Rob Jetten of Climate and Energy. Among other things, he announced a national savings target. Meanwhile, there is also criticism among experts. The pace is slow and the policy is partly counterproductive.
Jetten says he is “increasingly concerned” about the gas storage facilities in the Netherlands and neighboring countries. They should be full by the end of September, say experts. But now it’s only half that. In view of the sky-high gas prices and declining supplies, there is no guarantee that sufficient filling will be achieved in time.
This is where energy saving comes into play. In the summer months we also use gas, for example to generate electricity and heat water. If we reduce that gas consumption, it will be easier to fill the gas reserves.
More coal and energy savings
The cabinet announced last week that it wanted to burn more coal, so that less natural gas is needed for electricity. This can save 2 billion cubic meters of gas on an annual basis. However, the challenge is much greater, because the Netherlands uses about 40 billion cubic meters of gas every year.
At the same time as the Coal Decree, “a national energy saving target” was therefore announced – which has yet to be adopted elaborated.
Such a saving target can be more effective, says energy expert Kees van der Leun, director of Common Futures. He pleaded early March already pre-calculated and calculated that the Netherlands can save 5 billion cubic meters of gas within a year.
The Dutch used less energy themselves
This concerns savings obtained through policy, says Van der Leun. “So a reduction in the amount of energy we would use if no policies were in place.”
That is a point where confusion can arise, warns Van der Leun. Our energy consumption fluctuates considerably. For example, we used considerably less energy in the first months of this year because we had a mild winter and high prices for gas and electricity – causing citizens and companies to adjust their behaviour.
“If we set a hard saving target, we have to correct that for falling demand due to high prices and warm winter weather,” says Van der Leun. He also believes that we should communicate the savings achieved on a weekly basis in order to adjust the policy where necessary.
The question is whether the government has that in mind. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate said last week to NU.nl that although the energy saving target has yet to be announced, “the aim is to structurally maintain the savings we have achieved in the first five months”.
Cabinet has inhibited energy saving so far
That saving is not net policy merit, but rather came about despite government policy, says Van der Leun. This is because the main incentive to save energy, the very high energy prices, has actually been weakened by the government.
This was done by successively lowering energy tax, fuel excise and VAT on energy consumption in 2022. This has artificially lowered energy prices.
The measures that were taken, such as a call in April to lower the thermostat and the national insulation program that runs until 2030, probably did not outweigh this, thinks Van der Leun.
Car-free Sunday and emergency energy saving law
When asked about suggestions for saving oil and gas in the short term, Urgenda director Marjan Minnesma refers to an earlier ‘54 point plan† “There are many practical options for saving energy.” If that’s not enough, we should consider emergency savings (like car-free Sundays), Minnesma says.
In addition to a gas crisis, we also have an oil crisis at the same time, agrees Van der Leun. “So it also makes sense to save fuel. And then we should actually be the first to undo the excise duty reduction. Petrol and diesel are indeed very expensive, but that price also indicates the seriousness of the situation.”
Because of this seriousness, the cabinet should introduce an emergency energy saving law, says energy expert Laetitia Ouillet. She and other senders did a proposal to. “We should really do everything we can immediately. Households can save 10 to 15 percent of their energy and shops even 50 percent.”
Just plugging cracks everywhere would save another 0.5 billion cubic meters of gas, Ouillet says. Excessive ventilation, unnecessary lighting, cooling too hard: large amounts of energy are still wasted everywhere, especially by companies, says Van der Leun.
Minnesma says she is surprised at the pace. “Saving energy is the easiest way to alleviate the energy crisis for ourselves and at the same time put a heel on Putin. Why do we linger so much?”
–
