BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany activated the first level of alert in its emergency gas supply plan on Wednesday, saying the measure was aimed at preparing the country for possible disruptions or a halt in flows natural gas from Russia.
This decision comes after Moscow announced its intention to now pay for its gas deliveries in rubles, a measure rejected by the G7 countries, including Germany, but which fuels fears of supply disruptions.
The German emergency plan includes three alert levels and the first level does not involve state intervention.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck called on households and businesses to reduce their consumption now, explaining that “every kilowatt hour counts”.
He added at a press conference that supplies remained secure for now and that Germany was closely monitoring supply flows with market operators.
“We must nevertheless strengthen the precautionary measures to be prepared for an escalation on the part of Russia. With the activation of the first level of alert, a crisis unit has been set up,” he said. .
This unit will closely monitor the situation “in order to take, if necessary, additional measures to strengthen the security of supply”.
Russia accounted for 55% of Germany’s gas imports in 2021 and while this figure was reduced to 40% in the first quarter of this year, Robert Habeck explained that Berlin could not do without Russian deliveries until mid- 2024.
The head of the federal network regulator, Klaus Mueller, said on Twitter that the purpose of the early warning was to avoid a deterioration in supply and urged consumers and businesses to prepare for “all scenarios”.
(Reporting Joseph Nasr and Vera Eckert; French version Federica Mileo, editing by Marc Angrand)
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