Mr. Müller, when do you expect the third stage of the gas emergency plan, so that the Federal Network Agency will have to allocate the gas that has become scarce?

Christian Geinitz

Business correspondent in Berlin

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Ideally, it doesn't come to that at all, we do everything we can to ensure that there is no gas shortage.

We check the situation almost every hour and can say: Russia is continuing to deliver gas.

Because it is warm, because prices are high, because commercial and private consumers use less gas, the storage tanks fill up at around 0.4 percentage points a day, which is almost a record.

A lot is also being done to ensure security of supply in the medium term. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck is constantly on the lookout for liquid gas systems, both mobile and fixed.

The first floating LNG terminal is scheduled to come in December, and the second after the turn of the year.

So I hope that the cup will pass from us.

In August, according to the new gas storage law, the storage tanks must be 65 percent full, currently it is about 41 percent.

We can do it?

With a bit of luck and skill and sweat of the nobles, yes.

The blocking of the pipeline through Ukraine in the Donbass region has not changed this.

Less gas arrives in Waidhaus in Bavaria, but the quantities are balanced and the German supply is stable.

What are the implications of the so-called Decree 252 that Russia is using to sanction Gazprom-Germania, a gas company under your trusteeship?

It “only” affects the 30 Gazprom Germania subsidiaries that deal with trading or storage.

Overall, however, we manage 49 companies, among which Moscow does not sanction those who have to do with the networks.

Apart from Gazprom Germania's dealers, all other German customers can continue to get gas.

Neither the decree nor the situation in the Donbass are currently delaying the replenishment of the storage facilities.

We are currently in the early warning stage of the gas emergency plan.

What happens in step 2, the alert stage?

The early warning level is still not very noticeable, except that the prices are high.

They are currently around 92 euros per megawatt hour, for June the prices will drop to 89 euros.

At the beginning of March we already saw 200 euros.

There must be a reason for the alert level, which was not the case last week because the gas continues to flow.

And the alert level should also have a clearly distinguishable consequence.

For example, we should once again direct a significantly more intensive energy saving campaign to private households, and there could be auction models for commercial gas consumers.

This is intended to encourage companies to give up gas.

What intelligent way is there?

According to the mechanisms in the Gas Storage Act, the so-called market area manager will bid for gas himself from a certain point.

He does this from international suppliers, but it would also be conceivable for companies to offer gas.

We are currently checking whether such auctions work, or whether we need an additional tool.

Level three may follow later, the gas emergency.

How much time do we have then?