FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 17, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman
BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Commission is preparing for power cuts and other emergencies within the European Union, media group RND reported, citing a senior EU official, amid concerns over the conflict in Ukraine and a possible energy crisis within the bloc.
Falling Russian fossil-fuel exports to the bloc have pushed several EU states to put into effect emergency plans that may lead to rationing as they race to find alternative supplies.
The EU is preparing for two scenarios. In the first scenario, only a small number of member states are affected by an incident such as a blackout and other EU states can supply power to the affected members, EU crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic was quoted as saying by RND on Tuesday.
But if a large number of states are hit at the same time, the bloc's countries would have to cap their emergency aid deliveries to other members and the Commission could cover the needs through its strategic reserve, Lenarcic added.
"It is quite possible that disaster relief will also be needed within the EU," Lenarcic said.
In April, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Commission said it had begun a stockpiling operation to boost its defences against chemical, nuclear and biological incidents.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
