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Netzagentur boss Müller: “The weather, and thus private heating behavior and the situation in neighboring countries, are the decisive criteria”
Photo: Christophe Gateau / dpa
According to the head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, predictions about a possible gas emergency in winter are not possible.
"We should only know about a gas shortage when it can no longer be stopped," Müller told the "Handelsblatt".
"The
weather
, and thus
private heating behavior
and the situation in
neighboring countries
, are the decisive criteria." All three factors could not be predicted.
In order to be able to give politics and business a few days' advance warning of a gas shortage, his authority is working on models.
»Thanks to the well-filled storage facilities, we can buy ourselves more time to prepare for a gas shortage.
However, we cannot predict more than a week and a half in terms of gas consumption," said Müller in the interview.
Should a gas shortage occur, Müller expects wave movements.
“Gas shortages come, they go, they come back, they occur here and there, possibly throughout Germany.” He could not give a reliable forecast of where the risk of a shortage is greatest.
»In Germany, cold spells can occur everywhere.
If we get a very cold winter, we have a problem.«
When it comes to saving gas, "there's still a lot of work to do," Müller told the "Handelsblatt".
Industry consumption fell by 22 percent in August, among other things due to switching to other energy sources, "but also due to hard production stops".
"The industry is contributing what we asked of them." If things continue like this, it will help to avoid even worse damage from forced reductions.
There have been more gas outflows from private households in the past few days than he had hoped.
»In view of the warm temperature and the extremely high gas prices, I was very surprised.
That has to change.« Müller suspects that many heating systems have not yet been converted.
“Owners, tenants and housing associations still have the heating set the way they were last fall.
Above a certain temperature, the heaters come on in the morning.
This is a warning signal, something must be done urgently.«
ani/dpa
