However, it is “a positive development” that more gas is flowing and being stored again, Gewessler said after a gas infrastructure summit with companies and social partners on Friday in Vienna. “We must not lull ourselves into a false sense of security.”
Gewessler again criticized the Russian President. “Putin uses gas as a weapon. Even if more gas is flowing again today, we are still dependent,” said the energy minister. “We have to become independent, there is still a long way to go.” The Energy Minister announced that today, Friday, the ordinance for the technical conversion of power plants will be examined. Where technically possible, power plants should be operated with other energy sources instead of gas. Among other things, the restart of the Mellach coal-fired power plant by Verbund is being considered.
Video: Astrid Petermann talks about the goals of the gas summit
Economics Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) was also represented at the summit. “The aim of the meeting was to exchange information about current measures relating to the existing gas infrastructure and to prioritize certain gas infrastructure projects,” says Kocher.
At the constructive meeting, infrastructure projects were discussed, among other things, in order to be able to ensure the security of energy supply not only in the short term, but also in the medium and long term. We will continue to talk to the responsible institutions and companies in order to improve the gas infrastructure. Kocher also recalled that Austria had benefited from the supply of cheap gas from Russia “for a very long time”.
The gas storage facilities in Austria are currently 50 percent full. The turquoise-green government is aiming for a level of 80 percent by autumn. According to E-Control, the government’s storage target is still achievable. Therefore, according to the Ministry of Energy, there is currently no reason for the gas alert level to be declared in Austria.
To make matters worse, the large Gazprom storage facility GSA in Haidach (Salzburg) is currently completely empty and will not be refilled. Furthermore, the ailing German gas trader Uniper has currently only filled its storage facility in Austria to just under 40 percent. The gas storage facility of OMV in Austria, on the other hand, is already 79 percent full and the RAG storage facility is 72 percent full. The gas storage level in Germany is currently 48 terawatt hours. This corresponds to more than half of Austria’s total annual consumption.
Source: Nachrichten
