Berlin, Aug 4 (IANS): Germany needs to reduce its gas consumption by more than any other European Union member state in order to achieve the bloc's agreed savings target of 15 per cent, according to an analysis.

Germany must somehow find a way to save 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas between the beginning of August and March next year in order to reach the bloc's target, the equivalent to the average annual gas consumption of 5 million four-person households, reveals the analysis carried out by dpa news agency using EU Commission data.

Due to its high level of gas consumption, Europe's largest economy is required to make greater savings than any other EU state, making it responsible for almost a quarter of the gas savings across the bloc.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck has indicated that Germany was already on track to deliver a 14-15 per cent reduction in consumption compared to the past year.

However, last week Habeck also stressed that Germany would be attempting to reduce its consumption by more than the agreed 15 per cent minimum.

The president of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Siegfried Russwurm, called on the government to speed up its gas saving measures and warned that companies attempting to switch from gas to oil were being slowed down by red tape.

He called for expediting measures such as the replacement of gas-fired power generation with coal-fired power plants.

"This is not the speed Germany needs in crisis management," Russwurm said.

"Germany is in the midst of the biggest energy crisis since the founding of the Federal Republic. Business and private consumers must do their part to save gas in order to prevent production stoppages. It is now a matter of determination and speed."