(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 02 - Russia "in our case has reduced normal flows by 15%" but has now announced that "Nord Stream will be closed for two weeks for maintenance: this will mean that there will be even less gas and prices will increase because the gas is speculative and there will be a further rush to hoarding. We are going at a very regular pace and we are around 60% of stocks. We must reach 90%, an achievable target ".
This was stated by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, interviewed by SkyTg24.
The minister also added that if Russia closed the gas taps, Italy would suffer less than other European countries.
"It is clear, however, that we will have a difficult winter and frankly no one wants to take restrictive measures.
It is one thing to say we lower the temperature of the heating by one degree, or to say for a few months we go ahead with the coal plants, because in the meantime we save gas temporarily, it is one thing to say we must stop the activities.
We try not to do this, but I must say that we are in a fairly good position at the moment ". (ANSA).