Russia has further reduced its natural gas flows to Germany, but the German government sees no reason for concern.
The gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 main pipeline were throttled to 40 percent of the maximum capacity on Thursday night, the Federal Network Agency announced on Thursday.
The day before it had been 59.1 percent, which had already meant a significant reduction.
Nevertheless, the gas supply remains stable, the agency said: "The security of supply in Germany is currently guaranteed." The Federal Ministry of Economics also reassured.
"Currently, the quantities can be procured on the market, albeit at high prices," said a spokeswoman for Robert Habeck (Greens).
Christian Geinitz
Business correspondent in Berlin
Follow I follow
Traders can apparently buy the missing quantities on the spot market from other regions, for example from Norway, the Netherlands or as liquid gas.
Even the amounts of storage used as a reserve for fall and winter are still increasing, albeit at a slower pace than before.
According to the network agency, the total fill level is around 56 percent after 55.6 percent the day before.
The value is higher than at the same time last year, it said.
The fact that the net inflows into the storage facilities are somewhat lower than before is probably due to the price.
As a result of the reduced supply, wholesale prices have risen “noticeably” to currently 130 euros per megawatt hour.
The authority and the higher ministry also assure that they are monitoring the situation closely and are “in close contact with the relevant actors about the crisis structures”.
Gazprom cites technical reasons
The Russian state-owned company Gazprom justified the reduction by saying that compressor stations to maintain the gas pressure in Nord Stream 1 could not be maintained at the moment.
The German Siemens group cannot do this work because components are stuck in Canada due to western sanctions.
The network agency does not believe in this explanation.
"We cannot confirm a causal connection between the missing gas compressor on the Russian side and the large reduction in deliveries at the moment," it said.
Previously, Habeck had formulated it even more clearly.
“The reason given by the Russian side is simply pretended.
It's obviously the strategy to unsettle and push prices up," he wrote in a statement.
In a Twitter video, Habeck later added that Siemens' maintenance intervals were only scheduled for autumn.
Efforts are being made to exempt the components from Canadian sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is deliberately reducing the flow of gas, as he is doing in Bulgaria.
Poland and Denmark did.
"It is a political action," said the Vice Chancellor.
With the appeal "Every kilowatt hour helps in this situation", Habeck called on the population and companies to save energy.
The Network Agency agreed to this request.
"It is a situation that is serious, but not a situation that endangers the security of supply in Germany," clarified Habeck.
"But the gas quantities have to be procured on the market, and it will be expensive." New laws could ease the situation, such as the gas storage law.
That's why you're in better shape than the average for the past few years.
Forgetting about the war in Ukraine and being fooled by the normal summer mood can be "treacherous," he warned.
“Above all, we must not allow ourselves to be divided.
Because that is what Putin is planning: the German gas market, the European energy market,
It is possible that the gas reduction from Russia will continue.
Russia's EU ambassador told an international economic forum in St. Petersburg on Thursday that the line could be completely shut down due to the delay in maintenance in Canada.
"I think that would be a disaster for Germany," he said, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
Germany should rather repair the turbines in question on its own territory so that they do not have to be brought to Canada.
In fact, Habeck said he had checked with the European Commission that the components were not subject to EU sanctions.