DAgainst the background of the Russian war of aggression, the Federal Government is preparing for the Ukraine a significant deterioration in the gas supply. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) therefore announced the early warning level of the gas emergency plan on Wednesday in Berlin. This step is precautionary. The security of supply is still guaranteed. There are three crisis levels in the national emergency plan. In an emergency, household customers would be given special protection.
“There are currently no supply bottlenecks,” explained Habeck. “Nevertheless, we have to increase the precautionary measures in order to be prepared in the event of an escalation by Russia.” A crisis team came together when the early warning level was declared. “The crisis team analyzes and evaluates the supply situation so that – if necessary – further measures can be taken to increase the security of supply. The federal government is doing everything it can to continue to ensure security of supply in Germany.”
According to the ministry, the overall supply of all German gas consumers is currently still guaranteed. “Nevertheless, from now on every gas consumer – from business to private households – is also required to reduce their consumption as much as possible.” The head of the Federal Network Agency is also appealing to consumers and companies to help in view of an imminent deterioration in the gas supply. “The Federal Network Agency asks consumers and industry to contribute and is preparing for all scenarios,” wrote its President Klaus Müller on the short message service Twitter.
According to the ministry, the early warning level means that a crisis team will meet at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, consisting of authorities and energy suppliers. The gas suppliers and the operators of the gas pipelines are obliged to regularly assess the situation for the federal government. The state has not yet intervened. Gas traders and suppliers, transmission and distribution system operators take “market-based” measures to gas supply maintained: According to the ministry, this includes, for example, the use of flexibilities on the procurement side, the use of gas storage and the optimization of load flows.
Background to the declaration of the early warning level: Russia remains in its demand for payment for Russian gas supplies to Western Europe ruble unyielding. By Thursday (March 31), by order of President Vladimir Putin, the modalities would be worked out so that the system would be “simple, understandable, transparent and implementable” for European and international gas purchasers, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, according to the Interfax agency. “No one will deliver gas for free, and it can only be paid for in rubles,” he emphasized once again.
Putin announced last week that Russia would only deliver gas to Germany and other “unfriendly countries” if they were paid in rubles. This would support the troubled Russian currency. However, the group of G-7 economic powerhouses, including Germany, as well as the European Union as a whole, oppose payments in rubles for gas.