“Terrible Consequences”
Federal Network Agency warns of an acute gas shortage
04/05/2022, 8:55 p.m
The gas supply in Germany is said to be secure, but some of the Gazprom subsidiary’s storage facilities are dangerously low. A gas shortage in Germany must be prevented at all costs. However, the Federal Network Agency cannot rule out extreme cases.
The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, warns of the painful consequences of an acute lack of gas. “Unfortunately, it cannot be completely ruled out that we will have to make decisions that have terrible consequences for companies, for jobs, for value chains, for supply chains, for entire regions,” said Müller.Handelsblatt“.
On Monday, the federal government issued an order temporarily appointing the Federal Network Agency as trustee for Gazprom Germania. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck justified this with unclear legal relationships and a violation of reporting regulations. Gazprom is still Germany’s largest gas supplier. According to Müller, the step will bring stability to the market.
However, he was concerned about the levels in the natural gas storage facilities operated by Gazprom Germania. “We see that the memory in Rehden is less than one percent full. That’s very close to the technical lower limit. Figuratively speaking, it’s just before twelve,” said Müller. According to current Management report of the Federal Network Agency However, the gas supply in Germany is stable, the storage facilities are 26.45 percent full (as of April 3, 2022).
According to Müller, the Federal Network Agency is currently trying to prevent a gas shortage by looking for potential savings in various sectors. “We don’t want the third stage of the ‘gas emergency plan’ to have to be called.” The “gas emergency plan” determines who in Germany will still be supplied if there is not enough gas for everyone. Private consumers and social services such as hospitals are subject to special protection.
“The shutdown cascade is simply not predictable”
In the event of a Russian gas failure, for example, certain companies could be literally cut off from the supply. It is currently not possible to determine which company must be shut down in which situation. “Such a shutdown cascade is simply unpredictable. A binding shutdown list is an absurd idea that doesn’t do justice to the dynamic.”
According to Müller, a crisis team of 65 people is already available for extreme cases, which could regulate the distribution around the clock in shifts. “We have the appropriate infrastructure for this. Camp beds are available, we have ordered emergency food rations and filled the tanks for the emergency power supply.”