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Gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Lubmin: what will happen after July 21?
Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa
The maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline should be completed this week - but the federal government apparently does not expect sufficient delivery quantities even after that.
According to a report in the "Bild" newspaper, she expects an emergency in the gas supply in individual federal states.
According to this, Chancellor Wolfgang Schmidt (SPD) informed the heads of the state chancellery of the federal states in a switching conference on Thursday that the federal government assumes that Russia will also look for excuses for a renewed reduction in gas supplies after the maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
If Russia were to deliver more than 40 percent of the agreed amount of natural gas to Germany, the German government would, according to the report, get through the winter without any emergencies.
The government sees this as unrealistic.
She also assumes that Germany will still be dependent on Russian gas in the winter of 2023/24, according to the "Bild" report - and that gas prices will double or triple.
According to the newspaper, a prime ministerial conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to be convened if Russia does not resume gas supplies after maintenance work on Nord Stream 1.
Since Monday, July 11, gas has stopped flowing through Nord Stream 1, the main pipeline for natural gas from Russia.
Gas transport was interrupted for annual maintenance work on the Baltic Sea pipeline.
The work is scheduled to last until July 21.
A Nord Stream compressor turbine serviced in Canada is soon to be returned to the Portovaya compressor station via Germany.
So far it is unclear when the turbine will be installed.
"The reliable work of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the supply of European consumers depend on this," said the Russian energy company Gazprom on Saturday.
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) demands that the supply of natural gas be re-regulated in the event of a shortage.
"The current prioritization rules in a gas shortage were created for a short-term interruption of individual lines," said BDI President Siegfried Russwurm of the dpa news agency.
»Politicians in Berlin and Brussels must create new regulations for the tough new energy reality.
This has to hold all parts of society accountable according to their ability to perform.«
Russwurm expects Germany to face “a long-term gas shortage”.
Now "every kilowatt hour saved on gas and electricity counts," he said.
»In addition to companies, municipalities and countries, private consumers must become part of the massive energy saving campaign.«
Prioritization is the order in which private households and companies receive natural gas in the event of an acute shortage.
According to the applicable EU regulation and the German emergency plan for gas, certain consumer groups should be supplied with gas until the very end if possible.
These protected consumers include private households, social facilities such as hospitals and gas-fired power plants that also supply households with heat.
Russwurm demanded that Germany "not stare at the snake like a rabbit in preparation for all conceivable scenarios after the end of the revision of Nord Stream 1".
The industry expects "a clear starting signal for auctions in the summer" for companies that can make unused gas volumes available.
Also, authorities should allow companies to switch from gas to other fuels with quick and easy permits.
Bavaria's Economics Minister wants to declare a gas emergency
In order to be able to make such preparations, Bavaria's Economics Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) has demanded the immediate declaration of the gas emergency.
"I call on Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck to immediately declare gas emergency level three," Aiwanger told the "Augsburger Allgemeine".
He therefore sees a nationwide emergency as the necessary prerequisite for shutting down large gas power plants, saving large amounts of natural gas and thus being able to fill the gas storage facilities.
The state "must get involved in gas management now," said Aiwanger.
At present, "huge amounts of natural gas to generate electricity" are still being burned.
When filling up the natural gas storage tanks, »almost nothing« moves anymore.
In this context, Aiwanger also called for the Bavarian nuclear power plant Isar 2 near Landshut, which is scheduled to be shut down at the end of 2022, to be operated for a longer period of time - and for the Gundremmingen nuclear power plant, which was taken off the grid at the end of 2021, to be put back into operation.
In Aiwanger's view, this would bring "massive potential savings in gas consumption".
Green leader rejects lifetime extension for nuclear power plants
In the debate about the longer running times of the remaining nuclear power plants, Green Party leader Ricarda Lang pointed out that they are less flexible than coal-fired power plants in the event of a gas shortage in order to replace gas-fired power generation.
The Greens leader also called liability risks and the susceptibility to lawsuits in the case of longer terms as counter-arguments.
You therefore come to the conclusion that this "as of now would not be the right way," said Lang on Sunday evening in the ARD program "Anne Will".
At the same time, however, one must look at how the situation on the electricity market is developing.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) announced on Sunday that the security of the power supply in Germany should be checked under more stringent conditions in a second stress test.
When asked if there was a possibility that the terms would be extended, Lang said: »No.
First of all I will say that we will not do that at the moment.
Then I say that we always have to react to the current situation at any moment during this crisis and will examine all measures.
We have done that in the past.
We have never categorically ruled that out.
We have always checked what makes sense at this moment.
We will continue to do so.«
mmq/dpa/AFP
