The federal government’s crisis office, together with E-Control, announced the early warning level in the emergency plan for gas supplies, the office of Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens ). The reason for this is Russia’s announcement that future gas deliveries will be paid for in rubles only. “As a direct result of the early warning phase, the surveillance and monitoring system that has been in place for weeks will be further strengthened with immediate effect. For example, the daily reports from E-Control and Austrian Gas Grid Management, which are responsible by the gas market in Austria, complemented by detailed analyzes of market participants”, according to the ministry.
Any energy control measures (eg rationing) are not part of the first step of the contingency plan. They are only used at level three – the emergency level – and in the immediate case of a crisis (see knowledge). In the event of a total failure of gas supplies from Russia, steps in the emergency plan can also be skipped. Currently, gas deliveries from Russia continue unrestricted. Domestic gas storage tanks are 13% full – this is the average for the last few years. Austria’s gas storage facilities currently hold just over 12 terawatt hours (TWh) of gas. According to E-Control, this level is in a low but normal range. Austrian households consume an average of two to three TWh in March; in 2020 consumption was 19 TWh. The gas is being stored again at the gas storage facilities. E-Control continuously monitors supply flows, the statement said.
Knowledge: The gas emergency plan has three levels: the early warning level, the alert level and the emergency level. According to EU regulation, the early warning stage must be triggered when there are concrete indications that the gas supply situation will deteriorate significantly. The alarm level follows, but the State still does not intervene, but energy providers resort to reserves. In the emergency phase, the State intervenes and determines the distribution of natural gas.
daily observation
Carola Millgramm, head of the gas division at energy regulator E-Control, said: “We are actually preparing for the situation that there could be a delivery stoppage. Anything else would be remiss.” In fact, Austria took steps from the first phase of the gas emergency plan, which is required by EU regulation for all EU member states, even before the proclamation of the emergency plan: E-Control experts monitor since the beginning of the Ukrainian War and the daily energy supplier gas flows, storage movements and storage levels.
Austria is therefore moving with the German government, which also announced the early warning level on Wednesday. Due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Germany is preparing for a significant deterioration in gas supplies.
On Monday, the G7, the main industrialized countries, rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand for ruble payments for gas. The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the conversion of payments from euros and dollars to rubles would not take effect on Thursday. Delivery of gas and payment are separate processes, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who was quoted last week as saying: “No payment – no gas.”
“Manageable” gas delivery stop
The national mineral oil company OMV, which has concluded a gas supply contract with the Russian group Gazprom, states: “Currently, payment in euros is the basis of the contract. Our contractual partner Gazprom Export has not yet contacted us on this matter. OMV guarantees compliance with all of them at all times with applicable sanctions and legislation.”
Recently, a discussion has emerged in Germany about the economic impact of stopping Russian energy imports. In one model, nine German economists highlighted that the consequences would be “probably substantial, but manageable”. Thus, the gross domestic product (GDP) would collapse by three to four percent. That would be a recession that could be dampened with the right job market and fiscal policy measures, write economists working with researcher Rüdiger Bachmann at the University of Notre Dame in the US. In their scenario, state intervention would be massive, such as closing companies and, at the same time, protecting employees in the form of reduced hours.