Proposed EU Energy Efficiency Rules Include Mandatory Cuts, Public Building Renovation

摘要

The European Commission proposed energy efficiency legislation June 22 that would require power cuts by utilities and quotas for the renovation of public buildings, but it does not set mandatory member-state savings targets—an omission widely criticized by environmental groups and some members of the European Parliament. Under the proposal, which requires the approval of the European Council of Energy Ministers and Parliament, power companies would have to save on an annual basis 1.5 percent of their energy sales by volume by helping their customers to reduce energy consumption.