Status: 07/02/2022 04:25 a.m
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline will soon require maintenance. The question is whether gas will flow through the pipe to Germany again afterwards. The Federal Network Agency considers a total failure to be possible and is again calling for energy saving.
The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, fears a total failure of Russian gas supplies and appeals to the population to save energy. The question is whether the upcoming regular maintenance of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline “will become a longer-lasting political maintenance,” said Müller to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
If the gas flow from Russia “is motivated to be lowered for a longer period of time, we have to talk more seriously about savings”. The twelve weeks before the start of the heating season must be used to make preparations, he said.
Check the boiler and radiators
Müller called on all house and apartment owners to have their gas condensing boilers and radiators checked quickly and adjusted efficiently. “Maintenance can reduce gas consumption by 10 to 15 percent,” he said. “It has to happen now and not just in the fall.”
In order to overcome bottlenecks in the craftsmen’s appointments, he called on all craftsmen to concentrate on heating and hot water supply. Families should already be talking about “whether the usual temperature needs to be set in every room in winter – or whether it can be a bit colder in some rooms”.
Habeck: Blockade possible from July 11th
Economics Minister Robert Habeck had already made it clear that he feared a complete lack of Russian gas supplies from Nord Stream. From July 11, there is a threat of “a total blockade of Nord Stream 1,” said the Green politician on Thursday. That’s why it can be really problematic in winter. The gas supply over the summer is guaranteed.
Nord Stream’s annual maintenance work, which usually lasts ten days, begins on July 11. Then no gas flows through Nord Stream 1. The big concern is that Russia will not turn on the gas tap again after the maintenance.
Special protection for private households and nursing homes
According to Müller, in the event of a gas supply stop, private households as well as hospitals or nursing homes would be given special protection. “I can promise that we are doing everything we can to avoid homes being left without gas,” he said. “We have learned from the Corona crisis that we should not make promises if we are not absolutely sure that we can keep them.” However, the network agency sees “no scenario in which no more gas comes to Germany”.
If industrial companies had to be separated from the gas supply, “we orient ourselves to the business damage, the economic damage, the social consequences and also the technical requirements of the gas network operation,” Müller explained.
Companies should procure emergency generators
To prevent the gas shortage from escalating, the federal government recommends that companies purchase emergency generators. The generators were intended to compensate for possible power failures, the “Bild” newspaper reported in advance, referring to a reply from State Secretary for Economic Affairs Patrick Graichen (Greens) to Stephan Pilsinger, member of the CSU Bundestag. “Equipping with emergency generators is particularly recommended for operators of critical infrastructure,” the newspaper quoted from a letter from Graichen.
Henkel plans home office to save gas
The consumer goods manufacturer Henkel was one of the first companies in Germany to officially announce that it would probably temporarily reintroduce more home offices in order to save gas. “We could then lower the temperature in the offices significantly, while our employees could heat at home to the normal extent,” said Henkel boss Carsten Knobel of the “Rheinische Post”.