The upcoming increase in energy prices in the context of gas shortages will be a shock for German consumers, said Klaus Müller, head of the Federal Grid Agency (Germany's regulator), in an interview with the Funke media group.
“Many consumers will be shocked when they receive mail from the electricity supplier.
The state will not be able to compensate for everything,” he said.
According to him, the situation in the country worsened after Gazprom announced on June 14 that gas supplies through the Nord Stream (SP) pipeline were forced to cut for technical reasons.
The upcoming planned shutdown of the pipeline for ten days for preventive maintenance does not add to calmness, Muller added.
He also warned that due to the situation with the JV, gas prices for consumers could triple.
“The situation is tense, if not extremely tense… If during maintenance the flow of gas from Russia is reduced for a longer period, we will have to talk more seriously about savings,” Muller said.
The head of the German regulator stressed that there are only 12 weeks left before the start of the new heating season, during which the country's authorities must have time to "make all the preparations."
In his opinion, in the current situation, energy saving is indispensable, in connection with which the owners of houses and apartments should now switch their heating devices to an energy-saving mode.
Mueller believes that this will reduce gas consumption by 10-15%.
“If we only deal with this at the heating stage, it will be too late,” he warned German citizens.
Head of the German Federal Network Agency Klaus Müller
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© Oliver Berg/dpa
At the same time, the head of the Federal Network Agency stressed that the authorities want to avoid a situation where, in a crisis, they will have to choose which of the production sectors to provide gas on a priority basis.
“However, if it really comes down to it, we will be guided by business damage, economic damage, social consequences, as well as the technical requirements for operating gas networks,” Muller said.
The prospect of deterioration
Meanwhile, in Germany on June 23, the second level of the three possible gas emergency plans was announced.
The German authorities launched the first phase at the end of March, after Russia announced the transition to paying for fuel supplies in rubles.
“Currently, there are interruptions in gas supplies, which leads to a significant deterioration in the situation with gas supply.
This necessitates the declaration of the alarm mode.
The European partners have been informed of this step,” the German Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection announced on the same day.
According to the head of the ministry, Robert Habek, energy supply will become a priority for the country in the next few months.
Klaus Müller spoke about the importance of maintaining gas supplies from Russia back on June 28 in an interview with the ZDF television channel.
According to him, even if underground gas storage facilities (UGS) are filled to the required 90%, Germany without Russian gas during the heating season will be able to hold out for no more than two and a half months - and even then in a standard winter.
According to the data of the Federal Grid Agency, as of July 1, German UGSFs are 61.03% full, while fuel supply via Nord Stream remains at 40% of the maximum capacity.
“If Russian gas supplies via Nord Stream remain at the same low level, a storage factor of 90% is unlikely to be reached by November without additional measures,” follows from the summary on the regulator’s website.
Looking for a way out
Robert Habek on ARD aired on June 17 admitted that the country's Ministry of Economy could resort to forcing the population and businesses to save energy with the help of the law.
In turn, the Union of German Cities and Communities took the initiative to reduce the permissible temperature in houses to 18-19 ° C in order to reduce gas consumption.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported on June 30 that Swedish utility Vattenfall is building a huge tower in Berlin to heat the capital's households.
According to journalists, the facility will operate on the principle of a giant thermos.
The 45m-high tank will be filled with 56 million liters of hot water, which will be kept warm by electricity from solar and wind farms across Germany.
Future thermal tank for home heating in Berlin
AP
© Michael Sohn
“This is a huge thermos that allows us to store heat when we don’t need it, and release it when we need to use it,” Tanya Vilgoss, head of Vattenfall Germany, told the agency.
However, she also urged German citizens to save electricity.
“Every kilowatt-hour we save is good for our country,” Vilgoss said.
Simultaneously with the development of measures to save gas, the German leadership is looking for alternative suppliers of blue fuel that could replace Russian volumes.
On June 30, the newspaper Die Welt reported that Berlin has high hopes for Canada and its liquefied natural gas (LNG) in this matter.
According to the publication, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau want to sign an agreement on gas supplies by the end of August.
However, according to the newspaper, the situation is complicated by the fact that Germany currently does not have the infrastructure to export LNG.
Two floating terminals for receiving such fuel (one in the federal state of Lower Saxony, the other in Schleswig-Holstein) are still under construction.
They are scheduled to be put into operation only at the end of this year, Robert Habek told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag on July 2.
"There is already a shortage"
Experts interviewed by RT note the validity of the fears and warnings of German officials about the worsening gas situation.
According to Stanislav Mitrakhovich, an expert from the National Energy Security Fund, German companies were the first to feel the brunt of the "gas shortage".
Thus, the energy holding Uniper has already stated that it needs support measures from the state, and the BASF chemical plant complex states that it is forced to close its enterprises due to the high cost of gas.
“So there is already a shortage.
It’s just that many people think that a shortage is when, for example, they turned off a house where the boiler runs on gas.
But in fact, a shortage is when the industry begins to suffer.
After all, it pulls other problems along with it: job cuts, a rise in product prices, a decrease in the level of well-being of citizens, the loss of competitive advantages in foreign markets, ”Mitrakhovich explained in an interview with RT.
At the same time, the responsibility for the current crisis lies entirely with German politicians, Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, is sure.
According to him, Berlin today is inclined to look for the root of all its gas problems and options for their solutions in foreign policy.
At the same time, the course that he adheres to in relation to Russia, one of the main suppliers of energy resources for the country, leaves him no chance of any compromise with Moscow.
“Because of this, the German government is starting to generate ideas that someone will come and replace Russia by replacing its supplies.
However, these are illusions, since the volume of gas production in the world is quite constant and all of them have already been contracted.
Therefore, Germany’s claims for their part only imply their repurchase, and for a much higher price, ”Olenchenko said in a conversation with RT.
In this light, any attempts by the FRG to accuse Russia of politicizing gas supplies are unjustified, said Alexander Frolov, deputy general director of the National Energy Institute.
“It is Russia, because of the sanctions, that cannot get back its turbine, which was being repaired in Canada.
A number of gas pumping units are awaiting diagnostics.
And without them, pumping gas through the Nord Stream in full is impossible.
Now, if Gazprom had received the turbine back in time and had not resumed deliveries to Europe at the same capacity, then only then could we talk about some kind of politicization of the gas topic, ”the expert explained in a commentary to RT.
Frolov also stressed that Germany could well have avoided the current situation if it had given the green light to the launch of Nord Stream 2.
However, she does not do this precisely for political reasons, the expert recalled.
“Thus, the German leadership, through its politically motivated decision, endangers the gas supply of its consumers.
And his hopes for gas supplies from other countries are futile, since they are not supported by any contracts - his calculations for outside help have no basis, ”the analyst concluded.