Germany urged to save energy in order to survive the winter without gas from Russia

With significant energy savings and full storage, by the end of the year, Germany will be able to survive the winter without Russian gas supplies, Economics Minister and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said in an interview with Wirtschafts Woche.

“If we have full storage facilities by the end of the year, if two of the four LNG (liquefied natural gas) tankers we rented are connected to the grid and if we save energy significantly, then if Russian gas supplies are cut off, we will be able to enough to survive the winter,” he said.

According to Habek, two of the four LNG ships supplied to Germany are already replacing just under a quarter of Russian gas. However, despite this, the minister warned about the economic risks of cutting off gas supplies from RUSSIA. “Even under the mentioned conditions, gas prices will certainly be very high, and storage facilities will be empty at the end of winter,” Habek said.

Germany warned of an increase in gas prices due to Russia's retaliatory sanctions Politics

At the end of March, Habek said that Berlin hopes to achieve almost complete independence from Russian gas by the summer of 2024. By the end of this year, Germany plans to become practically independent of Russian oil , and by the autumn - to completely abandon Russian coal.

On March 30, Germany introduced the first level of the emergency warning regime in gas supply due to possible interruptions in supplies from Russia, which provides for the maximum reduction in gas consumption and constant monitoring of the situation on the gas market.

The gas contingency plan provides for three levels of threat. The first, an early warning regime, is introduced when there are “concrete, serious and reliable” signs of an impending deterioration in the gas supply situation. If such a scenario is realized, a second level of danger is introduced.

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The third level of threat - the declaration of an emergency - occurs with a significant disruption of gas supply. In this case, the government intervenes to provide gas to a “protected” category of consumers - citizens, hospitals, fire services and police.

After Russia transferred gas payments into rubles, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced plans to continue paying in euros. At the same time, he said that Germany would not be able to overcome its dependence on Russian gas within a year and that "more time" would be needed.

At the same time, on May 10, the German gas company VNG - Verbundnetz Gas announced that it would pay for gas in euros through Gazprombank accounts. “We will pay the amount of the invoice, which will continue to be denominated in euros, to accounts with Gazprombank in accordance with the planned procedure, so that we can ensure timely payment to our supplier,” the company told REUTERS, without answering a question from the agency. whether two accounts were opened in Gazprombank - in euros and rubles.

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