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Germany has triggered the second phase of its three-phase gas emergency plan as it braces up for the possibility of a complete halt of gas supplies from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
In an official statement, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Germans needed to start cutting energy consumption. He also blamed the Russian president for the current state of affairs.
Fear of supply outages in Germany is running high. According to an FT report, Germany fears that the Russian state will take advantage of the maintenance work to suspend gas deliveries to the country.
Supply via the Nord Stream 1 pipe is already much lower than normal due to a delay in the installation of a turbine that was taken by Siemens Energy for repairs to Canada. The country recently extended sanctions against Russia to include services, effectively blocking the turbine.
The German government dismissed this explanation provided by both Gazprom and Siemens Energy, saying the motive for the flow reduction was political.
Normally, when Gazprom does maintenance on Nord Stream 1, it diverts the gas supply to Ukrainian pipelines and Yamal-Europe, the FT quoted the head of Germany's business confederation BDI Carsten Rolle. However, this has not happened this year.
As a result of lower gas supply, European prices are once again on a steady rise, with fears building that despite a strong start to storage-filling, the ending might be a lot slower ahead of the next heating season.
Gas prices are currently hovering above $1400:
For Germany, the situation is especially sensitive. According to BDI, the German economy will undoubtedly slip into a recession if Russia closes the gas taps completely.
For now, the government is calling for energy conservation and reconsidering the use of its coal-fired power plants, like other European ountries, such as Austria and the Netherlands. Yet it remains adamant that the final year in which it will produce coal-fired power will be 2030.
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