The critical moment is the planned restart of the pipeline, which is scheduled for July 21. “Nobody can predict today whether deliveries will be fully resumed afterwards. The 21st of July is therefore a critical date for gas supplies across Europe,” Gewessler emphasized.
Where Nord Stream 1 only plays a subordinate role for direct gas deliveries to Austria. “Austria is mainly supplied by the pipeline system via Ukraine. However, due to the complete loss of supply via Nord Stream 1 due to maintenance work, a significant drop in deliveries is also expected in Austria,” says the broadcast.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned of a “nightmare scenario” on Sunday. The German government is trying to prepare for the worst with its measures to prevent just that, he said in Deutschlandfunk on Sunday, with a view to the consequences of a gas failure. Faced with the sharp rise in gas prices, he also warned that there would be too much social division “without greater political support”. Consumer Defense Minister Steffi Lemke (like Habeck of the Greens) called for a moratorium on the impending gas and electricity cuts in the event of unpaid bills at the “Bild am Sonntag”.
Habeck referred to the necessary mix of filling gas storage tanks, rescuing gas suppliers and saving for citizens, companies or administrative buildings. He hinted to Deutschlandfunk that the 15 billion euros provided by the government to buy more expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) might not be enough to fill Germany’s gas storage facilities to the 80% expected in October. The government may have to provide more money.
He criticized the fact that some gas suppliers are selling gas from their storage facilities again, which is nice. “The problem is that the large storage facilities, which are partially owned by Gazprom and now held in escrow, … are comparatively empty. So the 63% average doesn’t tell us the whole story,” he said, looking to the current level.
Habeck also criticized European guidelines that, in the event of a gas shortage, savings must be made first by companies and finally by consumers. “I find that unsatisfactory. But it’s the European legal norm and it hasn’t changed yet,” he said.
There is positive news for Germany in another area of the gas crisis: the German federal government received Canada’s export license today for repaired turbines for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. On Saturday, the Canadian government issued a special temporary export permit. , necessary because of sanctions against Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine. Repaired turbines can therefore be delivered to Germany.