Austria’s dependence on Russian gas has increased again

Austria’s dependence on Russian gas remains high: in December, an estimated 71 percent of gas imports came from Russia. This emerges from the energy dashboard of the responsible climate ministry. From May to October, dependency gradually fell from more than 70 percent to just under 20 percent. In November there was an increase to 40 percent.

Before the Ukraine war, Austria was 83 percent dependent on Russian gas. The reason for the increase is lower imports from Germany and Italy with constant gas flows from Russia at the same time. Gazprom throttled the gas delivery volumes that arrive in Baumgartenberg, Lower Austria, in the summer, but recently delivered more again. According to OMV, it is currently 100 percent of the ordered quantity.

The data comes from the Association of European Transmission System Operators and the regulatory authority E-Control. However, they should be treated with caution: E-Control estimates the figures by combining data from the gas transfer points at the borders with figures from market monitoring. However, since participants on the gas market are not obliged to state the exact source when monitoring, inaccuracies and subsequent changes may occur.