Article 4

Security of supply for specific customers 1. Member States shall ensure that supplies for household customers inside their territory are protected to an appropriate extent at least in the event of: a partial disruption of national gas supplies during a period to be determined by Member States taking into account national circumstances; extremely cold temperatures during a nationally determined peak period; periods of exceptionally high gas demand during the coldest weather periods statistically occurring every 20 years, These criteria are referred to in this Directive as "security of supply standards". 2. Member States may extend the scope of paragraph 1 in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises and other customers that cannot switch their gas consumption to other energy sources, including measures for the security of their national electricity system if it depends on gas supplies. 3. A non-exhaustive list in the Annex sets out examples of instruments which may be used in order to achieve the security of supply standards. 4. Member States, having due regard to the geological conditions of their territory and the economic and technical feasibility, may also take the necessary measures to ensure that gas storage facilities located within their territory contribute to an appropriate degree to achieving the security of supply standards. 5. If an adequate level of interconnection is available, Member States may take the appropriate measures in cooperation with another Member State, including bilateral agreements, to achieve the security of supply standards using gas storage facilities located within that other Member State. These measures, in particular bilateral agreements, shall not impede the proper functioning of the internal gas market. 6. Member States may set or require the industry to set indicative minimum targets for a possible future contribution of storage, either located within or outside the Member State, to security of supply. These targets shall be published.

← 3. · All articles · art_4__para →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.