Nord Stream 1 maintenance begins – expect less gas

The crucial point in time is the planned restart of the pipeline, scheduled for July 21. “No one can predict today whether deliveries will be fully resumed after this,” Gewessler stressed. “So July 21 is a crucial date for gas supplies across Europe.”

Nord Stream 1 plays a secondary role in direct gas delivery to Austria. “Austria is mainly supplied via the pipeline system through Ukraine. However, due to the complete loss of supply via Nord Stream 1 due to maintenance work, a significant reduction in deliveries in Austria is also expected,” according to the broadcast.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned on Sunday of a “terrifying scenario”. He said in Deutschlandfunk on Sunday that the German government is trying to prepare for the worst with its measures in order to avoid exactly this, with the aim of repercussions of the gas failure. Given the sharp rise in gas prices, he warned there would be a lot of social division “without more political support”. Consumer Protection Minister Steffi Lemke (like Habeck of the Greens) has called for an imminent halt to gas and electricity cuts in the event of unpaid bills in Bild am Sonntag.

Habek pointed to the necessary mixture to fill gas storage tanks, save gas suppliers, and achieve savings for citizens, companies, or administrative buildings. Deutschlandfunk hinted that the 15 billion euros the government provided to buy more expensive LNG may not be enough to fill Germany’s gas storage facilities to the hoped 80 per cent in October. The government may have to provide more money.

He criticized the fact that some gas suppliers are even selling gas from their storage facilities again, which is legal. “The problem is that the large storage facilities, which are partly owned by Gazprom and are now safe, are … relatively empty. So the 63 percent average doesn’t tell the whole story,” he said, looking at the current level.

Habeck also criticized European guidelines that in the event of gas shortages, savings must be provided first by companies and last by consumers. “I find it unsatisfactory. But it is European law and it has not changed yet,” he said.

There is positive news for Germany in another area of ​​the gas crisis: the German federal government today welcomed the Canadian export license to repair the turbines of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. Thus the repaired turbines can be delivered to Germany.