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Turn it down: the coming winter could be cold for many people in Germany
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Hauke Christian Dittrich / dpa
The Federal Network Agency has warned of “huge price jumps” for gas.
"Depending on the building, it can double or triple," said the head of the authorities, Klaus Müller.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also promised the country a hard winter and called again for energy saving.
Because of the worsening situation, demands for a gas price cap and higher tenant protection were raised.
At the moment, the gas price increases from last autumn and thus from the time before the Ukraine war are still being passed on, Müller pointed out on ARD.
This alone means price increases for customers by sometimes 30, 50 or 80 percent.
Müller told the broadcasters RTL/ntv that the price level had risen by 50 percent since the throttling of Russian gas deliveries last week.
A maintenance window is threatening in mid-July, then the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will be completely shut down "and we don't know what will happen afterwards".
His authority is currently preparing scenarios for the further development of natural gas deliveries to Germany, said the head of the Federal Network Agency.
Most of these scenarios are not nice.
He would "do everything to ensure that we avoid freezing in private households," said the miller.
However, he is very concerned that industrial production can be maintained.
Habeck: More cycling, shorter showers
Like Müller, Habeck also called for strict energy saving.
In the ZDF "heute journal" Habeck said when asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin could turn off the gas tap completely: "I would be lying if I said I ruled it out." But each individual can help - it is advisable to do so hydraulic balancing of the heating, traveling by train instead of plane and turning down the heating by one degree in winter.
For example, he himself "reduced significantly" his shower time," said Habeck.
The Ministry of Economics announced the second crisis level in the gas emergency plan on Thursday, the so-called alarm level.
This emergency plan has never been activated in Germany.
It provides for close monitoring of the gas market, strict gas savings and, in cases of doubt, the allocation of gas volumes.
However, only in the third stage does the state intervene in the market.
Fear of hard winter
However, as described by the network agency, consumers are already feeling the consequences of the high prices on the gas market.
Verdi boss Frank Werneke called for a “gas price cap at the pre-crisis level for a volume of 12,000 kilowatt hours per household” in the “Handelsblatt”.
This ensures the supply of affordable heating energy.
The general manager of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, Ulrich Schneider, called on the federal government to make “preparations for long-term aid”.
The German Tenants' Association was "very concerned that many tenants will be sitting in cold apartments this winter or could lose their apartments".
Therefore, a termination moratorium is "urgently" needed in the event that tenants cannot pay their utility bills on time.
In addition, power and gas cuts would have to be prevented and state support options would have to be initiated.
The German Association of Cities also called for “specific help for those who have little”.
The municipal utilities would also have to come under the protective shield of the federal government if they got into liquidity problems.
City Council President Markus Lewe (CDU) referred to the "balancing act" that needs to be accomplished: "If the public utilities pass on the prices unchecked, many people will no longer be able to afford their lives.
If the price increases are not passed on, there is a risk of bankruptcies for municipal utilities.«
atb/AFP
