BERLIN (AP) — The head of Germany’s energy agency urged residents on Saturday to conserve energy and prepare for winter as consumption rises, fearing Russia could cut gas supplies.
Klaus Müller, Head of the Federal Grid Service, encouraged home and apartment owners to inspect and repair gas boilers and radiators to maximize their efficiency.
“Sustainability can reduce gas consumption by 10-15%,” Funke, a German newspaper and publisher of the magazine, told Mediengruppe.
Mueller said residents and property owners should prepare 12 weeks before cold weather strikes. He said families should start talking about “whether each room should be kept at normal temperatures during the winter – or could some rooms be cooler.”
Objection came after Russia cut gas supplies to Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia earlier this month, as European Union countries struggled to replace the fuel tank used to generate electricity, energy and heat for homes during the winter months.
Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom blamed a technical problem with the interruption of natural gas supplies via Nord Stream 1, a pipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
Russia could deprive the German economy of around 200 billion euros by cutting gas supplies – report https://t.co/OT1Ml1lSxt
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) 28 June 2022
The company said equipment repaired in Canada got stuck there because of Western sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
German leaders rejected that statement, calling the cuts a political step in response to European Union sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is also Germany’s minister of economy and climate for energy, warned that a “blockade” of the pipeline could be possible from 11 July, when regular repairs should begin. According to him, work done last summer caused Nord Stream 1 to shut down for almost 10 days.
The question is whether the upcoming regular maintenance of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline will be a “long-term political overhaul,” said Muller, the energy regulator.
He said that if gas flow from Russia “decreases over an extended period of time, we need to talk more seriously about savings.”
In the event of a gas outage, private households such as hospitals or nursing homes would be particularly protected, Muller said.
“I can promise that we will do everything possible to ensure that private households are not gassed,” he said. “.
He said his agency “doesn’t see a scenario where the gas would no longer go to Germany”.
Also Saturday, German chemical and consumer goods company Henkel said it would consider encouraging its employees to work from home during the winter months in response to possible supply shortages.
“Then we can significantly reduce the temperature in the offices while our employees heat their homes as usual,” Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel told the daily newspaper. Posted by Ren.
The environmental senator of the Hamburg state government also expressed his concerns and said he could not ignore the fact that in the event of a gas shortage the city in northern Germany would have to limit hot water to private homes.
“In the event of a severe gas shortage, hot water is only available at certain times of the day,” Jens Kerstan told the weekly newspaper. world on sunday.
Earlier this month, Economy Minister Habeck activated the second phase of Germany’s three-phase contingency plan for gas supplies, warning that Europe’s largest economy is facing a “crisis” and its winter storage targets are at risk.
Expert warns European gas prices could double or triple in some countries by 2023 https://t.co/xDqlWuNEn5
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) 26 June 2022
Source: Breitbart
