RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has called for natural gas consumption restrictions to also be imposed on neighboring Bulgaria, a country to which Greece exports gas, if Athens is subject to such a European Commission restriction.

The authority reasons that the same rules should apply for all EU member states in the event of serious gas supply disruptions to Europe, energypress sources noted.

“Greece cannot adopt mandatory consumption reduction measures of 10 percent or 15 percent in industry, for example, while, at the same time, a similar effort is not being made in countries to which we are called upon to export gas in the context of EU solidarity,” one local source pointed out.

The European Commission proposal for gas consumption restrictions, still not approved, will soon be forwarded by RAE for consultation in a process involving ACER, Europe’s Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, as part of the effort to prepare as best as possible ahead of the forthcoming winter, which could be challenging.