REPowerEU: gas shooting up but no State aid planned for biomethane
18.3.2022
Question for written answer E-001122/2022/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 138
Lucia Vuolo (PPE), Massimiliano Salini (PPE)
The Commission has announced measures in its REPowerEU Communication (COM(2022)0108 final) to provide financial support for businesses hit by high energy prices and for families in difficulty. The Commission has decided to establish a new temporary crisis framework to tackle these critically important issues by providing liquidity support for all businesses hit directly or indirectly by the crisis. In its Communication, the Commission describes biomethane as being strategically important, saying that its production should be stepped up to 35 billion cubic metres by 2030 and that an integrated gas and hydrogen infrastructure is needed.
The price of gas has multiplied tenfold compared to January 2021, the prices to consumers of methane used as motor fuel are out of ,control and there are likely to be cutbacks, and hence job losses, across the network of filling stations (over 1 500 CNG stations in Italy and 110 LNG ones).
In view of this:
- 1.Does the Commission plan to use this aid framework to enable Member States to provide support measures for retail businesses in the natural gas sector – covering methane used as motor fuel and compressed or liquefied gas – and for businesses using this product to fuel their own vehicles?
- 2.Does the Commission plan to use legislation to provide incentives or support for the distribution and use of hydrogen as motor fuel through the existing natural gas infrastructure?