He welcomed the amendment to the Environmental Impact Assessment Act that was presented the day before, which is intended to enable urgent procedures in the future, and spoke out in favor of “abolishing all prohibitions on thinking” in energy production. Nevertheless, he is optimistic that he will be able to store enough gas for the winter.
After Gazprom announced that it would reduce the gas volume to just 20 percent of the technical capacity due to further alleged maintenance work, politicians are now looking for ways to reliably and continuously supply the country’s industry and residents with gas and electricity over the winter.
That is why Achleitner urgently called for energy saving, because any energy saved now can be stored, so the supplies for the winter would be replenished. He also reminded people not to leave electrical devices on standby but to unplug them and to replace old devices with more economical new technology. He also pointed out that reducing the household temperature in winter by one degree Celsius is equivalent to an energy saving of six percent.
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Emergency plan and drawer regulations
In the event of a complete gas stop, an emergency plan for energy management is currently being drawn up. At the same time, “drawer regulations” are also being drawn up, which can be quickly put into practice in coordination with a federal regulation. In addition, new energy production and saving measures are to be developed: On the one hand, the application of the environmentally friendly fracking method developed at the Montanuni Leoben is to be checked, on the other hand, air conditioning systems are to be replaced by district cooling in the long term and the state funding for biomass is also to be extended in 2023.
In the event of this worst-case scenario, the industry would of course also have to make significant savings. The energy consumption of industry, the public sector and private households has already been reduced by ten percent, which is why, according to Achleitner, people are optimistic that they can also save 15 percent.
“Don’t underestimate the seriousness of the situation”
Wolfgang Urbantschitsch, CEO of E-Control, also warns against underestimating the seriousness of the situation. Nevertheless, not only the daily requirement is currently covered, but even gas is stored. A supply for six months is currently stored in Austria’s gas storage facilities, and they are on course to be able to create 80 percent of a year’s supply before the start of winter.
In addition, from August 1, the Haidach gas storage facility, whose owner, the Russian Gazprom, has not filled it since the beginning of the war, would be opened to other suppliers and made exportable directly to Austria, which was previously only possible with a detour via Germany.
Source: Nachrichten
