Save energy to reduce bills

“Energy savings are the quickest and cheapest way to address the current energy crisis due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Energy savings reduce bills for private households and SMEs, cut down on CO2 in the atmosphere and are the most cost-efficient way to achieve the green transition”, declared Pernille Weiss MEP, ahead of today's European Parliament debate on the new Energy Efficiency Directive.

The European Parliament will be voting on these new rules on Wednesday. The EPP Group wants to increase the ambition and supports the 14.5% energy savings goal for 2030.

"We also need to ensure that the energy savings targets do not block the needed increase and uptake of electrification necessary for the green transition and do allow the use of decarbonised gas solutions”, Weiss said.

The review of the Energy Efficiency Directive will be the first time that energy efficiency targets would become binding at national level. However, EU governments will retain flexibility and a lot of different tools regarding the choice of energy efficiency improvement measures to achieve the target on final energy consumption.

“These new rules recognise that EU governments have different infrastructures, industries, and buildings all over Europe. The compromise amendment gives EU countries ‘the necessary flexibility’ when setting their national contributions by allowing them to take into account different national circumstances affecting energy consumption - such as GDP forecasts, the uptake of renewable energy, the development of storage technologies and the overall level of ambition in national decarbonisation plans”, Weiss explained.

"When it comes to energy efficiency of buildings, it is currently quite complicated to navigate through different saving solutions, be it regarding the changing of windows, heating systems, isolating walls or acquiring better energy control systems. The same goes for the preparation of financial plans based on individual financial circumstances and guidance to up-skill the workforce in the related sectors”, Weiss said.

“This is why the EPP Group supports the concept of ‘one-stop-shops’. This means citizens, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, municipalities and institutions can enter through the same door and find everything they need in one place in order to be able to begin the work of saving energy”, Weiss concluded.

In July 2021, the European Commission proposed the so-called 'Fit for 55' package, a central part of the European Green Deal, adapting existing climate and energy legislation to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. One element in the law package is the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive. In May 2022, the Commission published a plan, dubbed REPowerEU, in which it favoured the target of 13% by 2030.