Favor industry in case of bottlenecks
Eon supervisory board: Only private households turn off the gas
4/28/2022 8:56 am
Should the feared bottleneck in the energy supply occur in Germany, “in the worst case” people will freeze at home in winter while industry can produce undisturbed. Eon and Lufthansa supervisory board member Karl-Ludwig Kley would like this reversal of priorities.
Russia has already stopped gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria, and the German government is also preparing for such a scenario. Economics Minister Robert Habeck called the early warning level at the end of March in order to be prepared for the worst case scenario. The associated emergency plan envisages giving preference to private households in the event of supply bottlenecks and instead disconnecting industrial companies first. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Eon and Lufthansa, is now calling for a change in approach.
Kley told “Manager Magazin” that politicians would be well-advised to think “very seriously” about “reversing the order and switching off first with private individuals and then with industry”. When asked whether this change in prioritization could lead to production continuing while people had to freeze in their own four walls in winter, the 70-year-old replies: “In the worst case, yes.”
The manager justifies his attitude, which runs counter to the plans of the Federal Network Agency responsible for distribution and Vice Chancellor Habeck, that people are dependent on their income. The German economy and thus also wages and salaries are dependent on “that the industry remains able to work”. The interview was conducted before the delivery stop for Poland and Bulgaria, which again alarmed the federal government with a view to the short and medium-term energy supply.
Habeck said this week that it is now apparent that the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin has fundamentally changed the European order. “This is the reality where energy is used as a weapon,” said the Green politician. The federal government must ensure “that we are not defenseless”. Berlin continues to reject an embargo on Russian energy supplies demanded by numerous actors.
However, it has not only been conceivable since the delivery stop for Poland and Bulgaria that Russia would also turn off the tap to Germany without much advance notice. Habeck emphasized that such an exceptional situation cannot be predicted, but at the same time emphasized repeatedly that in the event of bottlenecks, the supply of private households would first be ensured.