Status: 07/07/2022 11:55 a.m
The trade demands that leisure activities be taken off the grid first in the event of a gas emergency. Meanwhile, Federal Minister of Economics Habeck promises to ensure the gas supply in Germany by all means.
There is currently no shortage of calls to save gas. The General Secretary of the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH), Holger Schwannecke, told the Funke media group that leisure activities should be switched off first in the event of a gas emergency. Everyone should ask themselves what they would be willing to do without so that “other, important elements in the value chain can continue to be supplied with gas”.
“In such an exceptional situation and in view of the goal of ensuring that production and services of general interest can be maintained, I think it is appropriate that products and offers for leisure activities should first be taken ‘off the grid’,” says Schwannecke .
Apartment owners should check heaters
The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, also said that in the event of a gas shortage, “products and offers that fall into the leisure and well-being area are of secondary importance”. In his opinion, craftsmen should concentrate primarily on heating and hot water supply. House and apartment owners, on the other hand, should have their gas condensing boilers and heating systems checked and efficiently adjusted.
Due to the tense situation on the gas markets, the federal government declared the alarm level in the gas emergency plan two weeks ago. The alert level is the second of three escalation levels and does not yet involve state intervention in the gas market. Only when the emergency level was declared as the last step of the escalation ladder would the Federal Network Agency allocate who would still get gas in a gas shortage situation.
Habeck’s “Whatever it takes” moment
Meanwhile, according to Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), the federal government wants to use all means to ensure the gas supply in Germany. When asked about a possible collapse of the market, Habeck said on ZDF last night that that would not happen. “Now this is that ‘whatever it takes’ moment,” he said, echoing comments by former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi. The Italian had once promised to save the euro with a “whatever is necessary”.
With regard to an imminent total failure of Russian gas supplies, the Federal Minister of Economics emphasized: “We are not just passive. We don’t have to stand by in amazement at what is happening.” After all, it was also possible to maintain security of supply in Germany despite a 60 percent reduction in gas supplies. However, citizens would have to be prepared for an expensive winter.
Saving remains the order of the day
The price increases in autumn and winter 2022 and 2023 would be “in the four-digit range per household. And that can sometimes be a monthly income for a family.” In the opinion of the Green politician, saving remains the order of the day.
In order to save gas in view of the throttling of Russian deliveries, less gas is to be used to produce electricity – instead, more coal-fired power plants are to be used again. The Bundestag is expected to vote on the corresponding changes in the law later this evening.