Against the background of the Russian attack on Ukraine, both energy suppliers and the industry associations are not worried about the gas supply for Germany.
The energy industry has given gas customers the all-clear, also in the scenario of a failure of Russian natural gas supplies after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The head of the Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW), Kerstin Andreae, told the German Press Agency on Thursday: “If deliveries from Russia fail at short notice, that is a big challenge. One thing is certain: every gas customer will have a warm apartment this winter.” Russia supplies more than half of the natural gas consumed in Germany.
There are security mechanisms in Europe that would take effect in a bottleneck situation. “In any case, household customers and facilities such as hospitals are particularly protected by legal provisions. Contractually regulated switch-off agreements with industry or switching to other energy sources would also curb the demand for gas.”
BDEW: Broad delivery mix in Europe
According to Andreae, Europe can build on a broad delivery mix. Gas comes from all directions, so to speak. “In addition, there is the very good gas storage infrastructure, especially in Germany, as well as the European gas network, which enables intra-European gas exchange and which has been expanded more and more in recent years.” In addition, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is currently coming from the USA via large tankers. To a certain extent, there is the possibility of purchasing additional quantities of liquid gas.» The currently largest LNG providers are Qatar, Australia and the USA. “There, in particular, many producers are able to expand their supply at short notice in order to react to fluctuations in demand.”
In the medium term, the massive expansion of renewable energies, a broader supply structure and the ramp-up of hydrogen will be important for diversified security of supply, said Andreae. “We must become independent of fossil fuels. In the case of renewable energies in particular, it must finally be clear that obstacles to the approval and implementation of projects must be a thing of the past.»
Industry association Future Gas: Supply secured
Board member Timm Kehler from the industry association Zukunft Gas told the German Press Agency: “We are monitoring the current supply situation very closely and can say at least in the short term: the gas supply is secured for Germany. In particular, heating customers do not have to worry because of their particularly protected legal position and the diversified gas supply from other countries. This picture is also confirmed by the reports we receive from our members.»
The association also said that the developments of the past night were shocking – also because the German gas industry looks back on decades of energy partnership with Russia. For the member companies, business partners have in many cases become friends. The employees often saw their work as a contribution to linking Russia more closely with Europe and preventing West and East from drifting apart. This work is now being questioned.
Gas prices could go up
Irrespective of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the security of gas supply is not at risk at the moment, according to the assessment of the energy supplier EnBW.
“The Russian contractual partners are currently delivering the contractually agreed amounts of gas,” said a spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe company. Deliveries from Norway and the Netherlands as well as liquefied natural gas deliveries to Western European terminals also covered demand. “This is proof that the global gas market works.”
In view of the conflict, however, gas purchasers could face higher prices. EnBW buys gas for its several hundred thousand customers on the German wholesale market, the spokeswoman explained. “Due to EnBW’s long-term procurement strategy, permanently high gas prices on the exchange may affect end customer prices with a time lag.”
INES: Unprecedented “stress test” for EU supplies
In the event of a longer stoppage of all Russian gas deliveries, the gas storage association INES expects an “unprecedented stress test” for the supply of the EU. This assessment was expressed by the association’s managing director, Sebastian Bleschke, on Thursday after the start of the war in the Ukraine. “Whether the gas supply can be maintained completely and without interruption in the event of a long-term failure of all Russian gas supplies until next winter depends on many factors,” he said. A final assessment is not possible at this point in time.
Bleschke confirmed that the German gas supply could probably still be maintained this winter even with a complete Russian supply stop. The conditions for this are still mild temperatures and sufficient available imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The gas storage facilities in Germany were recently filled to a good 30 percent. “The storage levels are therefore still low, but no longer historically low.”
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
