Germany says full gas reserves enough for only 2.5 months without Russian supply

Germany could manage only for two and a half months without Russian energy imports if the storage facilities are “mathematically 100% full”, predicted country’s energy official Klaus Müller who is also the head of the Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur. In an interview with the German ZDF channel on Thursday, Müller also warned that consumers in Germany might see a two or three-fold increase in their gas bills especially as the country faces the prospect of Russian gas supplies being stopped. 

"If the storage facilities in Germany were mathematically 100% full... we could do without Russian gas completely... for just about two-and-a-half months and then the storage tanks will be empty," he told the Maybrit Illner program Thursday on the German ZDF channel.

The German energy official also suggested that the European nation needs to save gas and find new suppliers which would allow the suppliers to pass on the greater costs to consumers. However, it can take place only with the official approval of the Bundesnetzagentur, noted Müller. He also said that if Germany entered the third phase of the plan, it would have “terrible and drastic” consequences for the nation’s gas industry. Under the mentioned phase, as per the DW report, Bundesnetzagentur would ration gas and prioritise private households over energy firms.  

Germany's economy minister says some industries might be shut down

Moreover, apart from Müller’s warnings on Thursday, German Economy Minister and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck told German magazine, Der Spiegel, on Friday that some of the industries would have to be shut down if gas supplies deplete by winter. He said, “Companies would have to stop production, lay off their workers, supply chains would collapse, people would go into debt to pay their heating bills, and people would become poorer”.

Noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aim is to divide Germany, Habeck called for creating "the best breeding ground for populism, which is intended to undermine our liberal democracy from within." It is to note that Germany is heavily dependent on Russian gas and even though all EU member states have imposed an embargo on Russian oil over the war in Ukraine, Berlin has reportedly shied away from implementing a ban on Russian imports.

Image: AP