EU Launches Joint Gas Purchasing Mechanism to Boost Energy Security: AggregateEU

The AggregateEU mechanism is a new EU system for joint gas purchasing and demand aggregation at the European level. It was created following the adoption of Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2576, which was proposed by the Commission in October 2022 and agreed upon by Energy Ministers in November 2022. The regulation mandates Member States to aggregate gas demand equivalent to at least 15% of their respective storage filling obligations. The AggregateEU mechanism will allow companies to pool their gas demand and match it with the most competitive supply offers globally, excluding those from Russia. The mechanism is managed by a service provider, Prisma European Capacity Platform GmbH, and creates a transparent marketplace for the purchasing of both pipeline gas and LNG. It is open to both gas consuming and gas trading companies from all EU countries and Energy Community contracting parties. EU Member States must ensure that local companies submit their demand for an equivalent of 15% of each Member State’s gas storage filling obligations, but the purchasing of gas by companies is voluntary. The first call for companies to submit their gas demand for joint purchasing through the AggregateEU mechanism was opened on April 25, 2023, and will remain open until May 2, 2023. Afterward, the submitted demand volumes will be aggregated and tenders will be organized by the mechanism to attract competitive supply offers. The tenders will happen every two months until the end of 2023, allowing companies to contract gas for the next 12 months. The Commission will not engage in the purchase of gas and will not own any gas. Instead, it is responsible for creating the AggregateEU mechanism, designing the aggregation and tendering process with the service provider Prisma, and encouraging the participation of companies and Member States.