European gas security targets raise questions over costs and accountability

European gas security targets shape spending on storage, infrastructure and supply resilience, but their underlying justification is not always reassessed transparently. This paper argues that policymakers should examine how much protection to secure, alongside how efficiently existing requirements can be met.

The analysis examines Britain’s one-in-twenty gas planning condition and EU gas storage filling targets, alongside electricity reliability and emergency oil stocks. It explores who pays for protection, who remains exposed to supply failures and how changing demand and technologies affect the case for long-term security commitments.

Why we chose this report

The paper provides a useful framework for assessing gas storage obligations and infrastructure investment as Europe’s energy system changes. It encourages transparent comparison of alternative protection levels and regular reassessment of their costs and benefits, without assuming that existing standards should be weakened.

Source: Oxford Institute for Energy Studies