Officials are now in the “alert” phase and will begin preparing for a scenario in which the oil shortage worsens by speaking to sectors which use a lot of fossil fuels, such as transport and farming. They will also more closely monitor the size of international fuel stocks, broadcaster NOS said.

Phase one has no implications for the general population, but later phases do involve measures which will impact fuel use, such as car-free Sundays, lower speed limits, and a ban on home delivery services.

The European Commission has also said that working from home is an option and has advised firms to introduce at least one home office day a week.

“Stockpiles are shrinking and the Middle East is no longer delivering,” ING economist Rico Luman told the broadcaster. “Then you need to find alternatives. And that won’t be easy because the whole world is looking.”

Phase two of the plan involves issuing warnings about an impending fuel crisis, phase three is the alarm phase, and phase four means the energy crisis is real, with shortages that cannot be made up, the NRC reported on Monday.

In the case of phase 4, the government can bring in new measures, including export limits, together with other EU countries and countries which are part of the International Energy Agency.

Sources in The Hague suggested earlier that the government is also considering increasing the untaxed travel allowance, reducing road tax for delivery vans, and setting up a fund to help the poorest households pay their energy bills.

Insiders do not expect the Netherlands to reduce fuel taxes to partly offset the rise in prices, as many other EU countries are doing.

Last week, the government’s macro-economic think-tank CPB also said the government should not use expensive “generic” measures and advised swift, targeted support to those that need it most.