After Russia cut gas flows to Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia earlier this month and fearing disruptions to Russian gas supplies, the head of Germany’s Federal Network Agency, Klaus Muller, on Saturday asked the country’s residents to save energy and prepare for winter.
Mueller advised homeowners to check and adjust gas boilers and radiators before cold weather strikes in order to increase equipment efficiency. “Maintenance can reduce gas consumption by 10% to 15%,” he told the Funke Mediengruppe media group, which owns newspaper and magazines.
The agency chief also urged residents and homeowners to use the next 12 weeks before cold spells to prepare, suggesting that families discuss whether there is a need to adjust the temperature of all rooms in the usual way or if “or if some rooms could get a little cooler.”
Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom has blamed the reduced flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1, a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea between Russia and Germany, to a technical problem. The company said equipment refurbished in Canada is stuck there due to Western sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
German leaders rejected the explanation, describing the cuts as a political move in response to European Union sanctions against Russia.
Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck has warned that a “blockade” of the pipeline may be possible from July 11, when regular maintenance is due to begin. The previous summer, he said, work included shutting down Nord Stream 1 for about 10 days. The question, Mueller said, is whether the pipeline’s upcoming regular maintenance will turn into a “longer political maintenance.” He said the agency “does not see a scenario in which no more gas will come to Germany.”
Also on Saturday, German chemical and consumer company Henkel indicated it was considering encouraging employees to work from home in the winter, in response to possible supply shortages. Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel told the Rheinische Post: “We can significantly lower the temperature in offices, while our employees are heating their homes to the normal limit.” Associated Press.
