The Austrian federal government wants to secure the supply of natural gas by buying and storing gas itself. It is planned to create a gas reserve of the order of 12.6 terawatt hours (TWh). This corresponds to the Austrian consumption of industry, trade and households in a very cold month and three times the consumption of a summer month.
Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler and Finance Minister Magnus Brunner have announced rapid talks with the opposition, because such a law requires a two-thirds majority. The law is expected to be passed in March. Only if the gas reserve is created now can it be available in the coming winter. “We want to become less dependent on Russian gas. Our goal is to start the next heating season with better filled storage tanks. Nobody in Austria should worry whether there is enough gas for heating,” says Gewessler. The market alone is not up to this responsibility.
“The war in Ukraine is unsettling households and industry with regard to gas supply security next winter. That’s why we’re taking precautions and have decided to take the money into our hands now,” says Brunner.
The gas is to be procured via the distribution area manager. There will be a transparent tender for this. This can be expensive for the state. One megawatt hour recently cost more than 200 euros. The planned reserve would thus cost significantly more than two billion euros.
Source: Nachrichten
