{"id":397,"date":"2022-06-23T17:54:20","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T17:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=397"},"modified":"2022-06-23T17:54:23","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T17:54:23","slug":"germany-moves-closer-to-rationing-gas-as-russia-cuts-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/397\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany moves closer to rationing gas as Russia cuts supply"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Germany has moved closer to rationing gas as it raised the alert level under an emergency plan after Russia slashed supplies to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGas is now a scarce commodity in Germany,\u201d economy minister Robert Habeck told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Triggering the second \u201calarm\u201d level under its action plan brings Germany a step closer to the third and final stage that could see gas rationing in Europe\u2019s top economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development reflected a \u201csignificant deterioration of the gas supply situation\u201d, Habeck said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany, like several other European countries, is highly reliant on Russian energy imports to meet its needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian energy giant Gazprom last week\u00a0reduced supplies\u00a0to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline by 60 percent due to what the company said was a delayed repair. But Germany has brushed aside the technical justification for the move, instead calling it a \u201cpolitical decision\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia was using gas \u201cas a weapon\u201d against Germany in retaliation for the West\u2019s support for Ukraine following Moscow\u2019s invasion, Habeck said, with the aim of \u201cdestroying\u201d European unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s Dominic Kane, reporting from Berlin, said the implications for the government\u2019s decision will vary between household consumers and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor those residential homeowners, for people living in rented accommodation it does not mean that their gas supply is threatened right now,\u201d Kane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor those consumers in industries it is more serious because the government here is saying \u2018We believe that a time is coming where we will have to potentially ration gas supply\u2019 and bear in mind that during summer in Europe, residential gas users are not going to be heating their houses much, but the industrial sector will use and is using a large amount of gas the entire year round,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gazprom has already stopped deliveries to a number of European countries, including\u00a0Poland, Bulgaria, Finland and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supplies of gas to Europe\u2019s largest economy were \u201csecure\u201d as it stood, with energy companies still in a position to \u201cmanage\u201d the crisis, Habeck said. The higher alert level would lead above all to increased monitoring of the supply situation but action was still required to prepare for the winter ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we do nothing now, things will get worse,\u201d Habeck said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, Germany mandated gas storage facilities be filled to 90 percent by the beginning of December to mitigate the risks from a supply cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, the country\u2019s stores stand at just under 60 percent full, above the average level of previous years. The targets would, however, be hard to hit if exports onwards to other countries, hard to justify within Europe, were not limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Were these to return to the level they were at before the most recent supply squeeze, Germany could face an acute gas shortage in February 2023, while a further reduction in supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline could make the situation even worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already, the German government expects supply to stop between July 11 and July 25 for maintenance on the pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If deliveries do not resume after the service period, Germany could face a shortage of gas as soon as \u201cmid-December\u201d.<\/p>\n

Updated on