Energy crisis threatens Bavaria: Söder names a three-point rescue plan - and calls for "Independence Day"

Created: 04/03/2022, 14:05

By: Catherine Haase

Markus Söder (CSU), Prime Minister of Bavaria.

© Sven Hoppe/dpa

The energy crisis brought about by the Ukraine war is difficult to avert.

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder now names three points that should help.

Munich

- It has been more than five weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine, thereby provoking war.

While the Ukrainian population is suffering from the hail of bombs and the violence of the Russian soldiers and more and more people are leaving their homeland to go west, Europe is also feeling the effects of the war.

The energy supply in particular is severely affected by the dependency on Russian gas.

Energy crisis caused by the Ukraine war: Söder calls for "Independence Day" from Russian deliveries

Since the outbreak of the war, prices, which had already risen, have shot up again.

This makes heating and driving a car almost a luxury for some people.

So far, the federal government has not presented a clear concept of how to stop the crisis as quickly as possible, or at least to stop it.

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU*) has now published a video on his Instagram profile in which he presents a three-point plan on how this goal could still be achieved.

(You can read all the information about the Ukraine war and its effects in Bavaria here on our Ukraine refugees topic page.)

In recent years, a lot of time has been invested in achieving the climate protection goals, says Söder in the video, but now it is important to ensure security of supply and price stability.

It is particularly important that this is independent of Russian energy supplies.

Germany's dependence on Russian gas supplies has been a major point of discussion for years, and it's now gaining fresh momentum because every penny Germany pays for Russian gas could be invested by Putin to fuel the war in Ukraine.

Exit from nuclear energy: Söder wants to run power plants - "Freeze for peace" is not a solution

That is why Söder calls for an "Independence Day" in Germany, on which the country can act completely freely and independently of Russia's energy.

The federal government has a duty to present sensible energy plans.

For this, according to Söder, there are three important points to consider.

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On the one hand, gas deliveries from other parts of the world, as well as liquid gas and gas from your own reserves should also be considered.

Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck had already traveled to Qatar to negotiate a possible supply of Germany with the raw materials there.

Söder warns of a lack of energy plans: "It's going to be cold and, above all, expensive"

In addition, nuclear power plants should not be shut down just yet, especially now that the demand for energy is increasing due to e-mobility and digitization.

“Freeze for freedom” cannot be the solution.

In addition, nuclear power plants are more CO2-friendly than coal-fired power plants.

For each of the three remaining nuclear power plants, 1,000 wind turbines would have to be built to replace them.

According to Söder, this will hardly be possible by next year.

Finally, as a third point, the prime minister mentions the promotion of domestic energies, such as wind and solar power.

Finally, Söder promotes a “national energy consensus”.

Bavaria promotes “climate-friendly, price-safe energy”.

The supply situation for the citizens must be secured, so Söder, otherwise it would only end up being cold and "above all expensive".

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