The German government has called on citizens in the EU’s largest economy to save energy as Russia cuts gas supplies to more and more European countries.
German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck said the situation was “serious” and that “now was the time” for companies and ordinary citizens to save energy and store gas. “Every kilowatt hour helps in this situation,” he said in a video call posted on Twitter on Thursday.
Russia’s state-owned gas exporter Gazprom has cut flows through the Nord Stream pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, by 60 per cent in recent days, citing technical problems. But Germany said the move was political, amid escalating tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Germany’s largest energy company, RWE, announced reduced gas flows on Thursday. Italy’s supplies were cut by 15% on Wednesday, and Italian energy company Eni said shortages worsened on Thursday, while Slovakia saw a 30% reduction in flows. Meanwhile, the Austrian energy company OMV said it had been informed by Gazprom that supply volumes would be reduced.
The supply cut from Russia came when the leaders of Germany, Italy and France visited Kyiv on Thursday in a demonstration of support for the Ukrainian government almost four months after the war.
EU politicians have accused Russia of effectively arming its role as one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, while European sanctions following the invasion have raised fears of further retaliatory cuts by Russia.
European gas prices, which are already close to record levels, rose more than 70% this week in response to recent supply constraints, reaching 146 euros per megawatt-hour on Wednesday – a gain of almost 30% during the day.
Gazprom has blamed the reduction in gas flows to Germany for technical problems with the Nord Stream pipeline after pumping equipment supplied by Germany’s Siemens Energy was detained by Canadian sanctions following repairs at its Montreal plant. Only about 67 million cubic meters of gas are now pumped through Nord Stream – 40 percent of its technical capacity.
Russia’s envoy to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, warned on Thursday that additional repair problems could lead to a complete shutdown of the pipeline, with devastating consequences for Germany.
“Siemens should be asked why they have to send turbines to Canada for repairs,” Chizhov told RIA Novosti. “When all these turbines go to Canada for maintenance, it can stop. I think this will be a disaster for Germany.
Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller said on Thursday that there was “no solution” to the problem of Nord Stream turbines, as the Canadian plant is the only one that can repair Siemens Energy turbines.
Canada said it could not return the turbines because it was the only country to impose sanctions on Gazprom, he added.
Almost all of his other turbines were close to needing maintenance, “but we can’t send them to Canada,” Miller said at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. He added that Siemens Energy was trying to find a solution to the problem.
Miller said rising gas prices have offset the double-digit decline in Gazprom’s exports to Europe and Turkey. “Prices have risen. . . several times. So excuse me, but if I say we are not angry with anyone, I will not lie. ”
Habek said Berlin knew that Canadian sanctions could affect Nord Stream’s compressor station maintenance schedules, but that this is likely to become a problem only in the autumn.
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The technical reasons quoted by Gazprom are just a “pretext” and reducing flows is a “political action”, he added. “[Russian president Vladimir] Putin is doing what we have always feared he will do from the beginning. It reduces the volume of gas not in one fell swoop, but gradually. ”
Sergei Makogon, chief executive of Ukraine’s state gas transmission network, said on Thursday: “The Kremlin [has] decided to continue the escalation and extortion of the EU.
Russia can compensate for the lower volumes flowing through Nord Stream by increasing gas supplies through Ukraine and Poland, he said, but “they do not [the] will ”do it.
Eni, meanwhile, said in a statement that Gazprom’s shortage of gas supplies had worsened. The company said it asked for additional deliveries to be delivered on Thursday to offset the cuts from the previous day. But Gazprom said it would fulfill only 65 percent of Eni’s bid, or about 32 million cubic meters – far less than the amount needed to recover lost volumes.
Eni said Gazprom blamed the shortage for problems at the Portovaya plant, which supplies Nord Stream.
In Austria, which imports about 80 percent of its gas from Russia, OMV said that despite reduced flows, demand could be met by existing stores and spot market supplies, thanks to reduced consumption during the current heat wave. “The supply of our customers is provided,” added the company.
However, analysts have warned that while immediate gas supplies can be met, filling storages before peak winter demand will be much more difficult if Russian supplies continue to fall.
Additional reports from Amy Casmin in Rome, Sam Jones in Zurich, Joe Miller in Frankfurt and Andy Bounds in Brussels
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