On 8 March 2022 the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced REPowerEU, a plan the Commission describes as making Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 20301. In her statement she said the plan can reduce demand for Russian gas by two thirds before the end of the year1.
Von der Leyen set out four strands: diversifying gas supplies, speeding up the renewable roll-out, improving energy efficiency and replacing gas in heating and power1. She also said the Commission would help consumers and businesses face increased energy prices and prepare for next winter, listing more guidance on price regulation for consumers, a potential new State Aid Temporary Framework for businesses, and an upcoming proposal on minimum gas storage to secure supply1.
"REPowerEU will diversify our gas supplies, speed up the renewable roll-out, improve energy efficiency and replace gas in heating and power. It can reduce our demand for Russian gas by 2/3 before the end of the year."
Heating is where the plan meets the home. The report states that the plan proposes to double the planned yearly pace of deployment of heat pumps in the coming years, and that heat pump deployment contributes both to replacing gas for heating and to speeding up the renewable roll-out1. It adds that accelerated deployment will require rapid upscaling of the whole supply chain, alongside measures to boost building renovation and modernisation of district heating systems1. The European Heat Pump Association responded by stating that the industry is ready to deliver, and proposed that the Commission establish an "EU Heat Pump Accelerator" covering the measures needed to make heat pump installation easy and affordable for end users and to adjust legislation accordingly1.
The announcement was noted as coinciding with a 10-point plan published by the IEA the previous week1. The report does not give figures for current heat pump installation rates, for the cost of the measures, or for how the two thirds reduction is divided between supply diversification, efficiency and fuel switching; those have not been reported in this account1.
Why it matters for households
The plan names heating and power as areas where gas is to be replaced, which puts the equipment in a home, rather than only the wholesale gas market, inside a supply-security policy1. For a household, the practical link between a European target and a domestic energy independence position runs through how a home is heated and how much electricity it draws. A doubling of the planned pace of heat pump deployment implies more installations across Europe, and the report states this depends on supply chains, building renovation and district heating modernisation keeping up1. Homes not on gas, or weighing a change of heating system, sit within that wider shift; the regulation-policy picture, including consumer price regulation guidance and gas storage rules, shapes what suppliers and installers face. Households looking at their own consumption rather than their heating source can start with cutting the power a home draws continuously, covered in reducing base load, and with whether surplus solar generation can run storage heaters or underfloor heating.
What happens next
The Commission listed three forthcoming items: more guidance on price regulation for consumers, a potential new State Aid Temporary Framework for businesses, and an upcoming proposal on minimum gas storage to secure supply1. No dates for these were given in the report1.