Italy plans to cut gas consumption by 5.3B cubic meters

ROME

Italy plans to reduce heating in private homes and businesses to cut gas consumption by around 5.3 billion cubic meters by March, in a bid to reduce the impact of a possible halt of gas flows from Russia, a government saving plan shows.

The plan comes amid record energy and gas prices, which spiked up following the Ukrainian war and the repeated threats by Moscow to completely shut down gas supplies.

It was announced last week by Italy's Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani, but its details were unveiled on late Tuesday.

According to the document, industrial and residential buildings will reduce the heating temperature by 1 degree Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit).

The government hopes that the cuts will reduce its gas consumption by 3.2 billion cubic meters in the August-March period, while a further 2.1 billion cubic meters would be cut by using alternative fuel supplies.

Under the new measures, radiators in public, business, and residential buildings with central heating will be restricted from being turned up to maximum levels. They will also be set one degree lower at 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit), and turned off for at least one hour per day.

Cingolani also said that financial relief will be provided to help keep energy bills lower.

Italy's natural gas reserves are approaching 83% of capacity, the minister said. The government targets to reach at least 90% of capacity by the start of the winter.