Storage reach October target
Rising private gas consumption alerts network agency
09/04/2022, 8:00 p.m
Whether Germany can get through the coming winter without having to ration gas depends primarily on the extent to which companies and private households reduce their consumption. This has recently worked well for companies, but not yet for private consumers.
After the Russian gas supply stop through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, efforts to save have suffered a small setback, according to the Federal Network Agency. “Private consumers slightly increased their gas consumption in the first, somewhat colder week of September,” said the head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
Apparently, it is not yet clear to everyone that the heating settings must also be changed accordingly in order to save gas. “We can all influence whether it works without rationing in winter: It stands and falls with the behavior of private households,” said Müller.
The storage of gas in Germany continues despite the gas supply stop through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The storage levels have now exceeded the 85 percent mark, as the Federal Ministry of Economics announced on Twitter on Sunday. The same comes from data published on Sunday on the website of the European gas storage operators: According to this, the storage facilities were 85.02 percent full last Friday (September 2nd). This means that the target set by a regulation by the Federal Government of at least 85 percent fill level by October 1st has been achieved well in advance.
According to estimates by experts, 20 percent gas must be saved across all sectors compared to previous years, even when the storage facilities are completely full. The industry had recently reached this mark.
Russian gas giant Gazprom has suspended gas supplies to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely. The delivery stop, which began on Wednesday, was initially justified with regular maintenance work on a compressor station. Deliveries were supposed to resume on Saturday, but on Friday evening Gazprom announced that deliveries via Nord Stream 1 were not possible due to an oil leak in a turbine. The group did not provide any information on the duration of the delivery stop.