Bavaria fears discrimination: network agency contradicts Dobrindt in the event of a gas shortage

Bavaria fears disadvantage
Netzagentur contradicts Dobrindt in the event of a gas shortage

In winter there could be regional gas shortages. This statement by the head of the Federal Network Agency calls CSU man Dobrindt on the scene. This fears disadvantages for Bavaria, for example, if too little gas actually flows. The authority denies the allegation.

The Federal Network Agency has rejected statements made by CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt, according to which the authority intends to disadvantage the south and east in gas allocation in the event of a gas shortage. “The Federal Network Agency is there for the whole of Germany, and it will do everything for the whole of Germany to ensure that there is no nationwide or regional gas shortage,” said Klaus Müller, President of the Authority. “I think everyone knows that too.”

The CSU in the Bundestag had asked the federal government made up of SPD, Greens and FDP to prevent individual regions from being disadvantaged in terms of gas supply this winter. “The Federal Network Agency is making it clear that it wants to put southern and eastern Germany at a disadvantage when it comes to energy distribution,” Dobrindt said. This is not acceptable.

The CSU politician was referring to an interview with the T-Online portal, in which Müller had said that a nationwide gas shortage does not necessarily have to occur. “There could definitely be gas shortages in the region. The restrictions would probably be temporary at first and can end again or occur several times. In this case, we have to ensure that the gas is transported well through the country.”

Dobrindt demanded that the federal government clarify what the network agency’s statement meant in concrete terms. You must also “ensure that these obviously prepared regional disadvantages are stopped immediately”. CSU politicians have feared disadvantages in the energy supply for a long time and accuse the federal government of wanting to weaken Bavaria in this way.

Germany’s gas storage facilities are currently 78 percent full. On November 1, they should be at least 95 percent full. The supply is still stable despite the tense gas situation, emphasized Müller. “Both industry and private households are suffering from serious price jumps.” It is “very important” to reduce gas consumption. “Because we have to fear that we will still get too little gas from Russia and other gas sources from Norway, Belgium, Holland, maybe France, cannot fully compensate for that.” That is why saving at least 20 percent of the gas across all customers is an important task for this winter. No one can seriously predict whether the emergency level will have to be declared next winter.

South worries about its economy

In countries like Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, there is great concern that they will be particularly affected by a gas shortage because both countries are far from the planned liquid gas terminals and the large gas storage facilities in the north-west. The main focus is on the consequences for the economy. At the end of July, Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann warned at a crisis summit on gas supply that the industry wanted to know whether the south would be disadvantaged compared to the north in the event of an emergency distribution of gas, and that there were “great fears” at play. In the “Südwest Presse” the Baden-Württemberg Economics Minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut explained that “Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are the last links in the chain when it comes to pipelines. If too much gas is extracted in the north, the south looks down the drain. That must not happen, that would be fatal.”

Bavaria’s head of state Markus Söder also expressed concerns at the time. Referring to the Austrian gas storage facility Haidach, he explained: “If Bavaria, as the economically strongest federal state, is not sufficiently supplied, this will affect the economy as a whole. Anyone who decouples the south will paralyze the whole country.” He was reacting to Austria’s announcement that the gas storage facility near Salzburg, which is also important for Bavaria, would be connected to the Austrian network as soon as possible – in addition to the German network.

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