“Respond quickly if necessary”
Austria also announces a gas early warning stage
03/30/2022, 5:46 p.m
The gas storage facilities are only just full, and given the sanctions imposed on the Russian attack on Ukraine, it is unclear whether Russia will continue to deliver. After Germany, Austria is also putting its emergency plan into effect. The first thing to do is to monitor the situation.
After Germany, Austria has also declared the early warning level in the emergency plan for the gas supply. With the early warning level, the situation on the gas market will be monitored even more closely, the Energy Ministry and the Chancellery announced. “We will do everything to ensure the gas supply in Austria’s households and businesses,” said Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer. “The early warning stage ensures that the monitoring of the supply situation is intensified in order to be prepared in the event of changes and to be able to react quickly”
Energy control measures such as rationing are only planned from level three. At the same time, the Ministry of Energy reminded that gas deliveries from Russia are currently running without restrictions. The domestic gas storage tanks are 13 percent full, which corresponds to the average in recent years.
The reason for the step – in connection with the war in Ukraine – is a possible gas supply stop by Russia, which in future only wants to accept rubles as payment for gas. However, the group of G7 economic powerhouses, including Germany, as well as the European Union as a whole, oppose payments in rubles for gas. Germany announced the early warning level of its gas emergency plan in the morning. This is intended to increase precautionary measures in order to arm the Federal Republic against an escalation by Russia and thus a poorer gas supply.