The head of Germany’s energy regulator said Thursday the country was almost certain not to meet its gas supply targets amid a Russian supply shortage.
“I don’t expect that we will reach our next reserve targets as quickly as the first ones,” said Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency, to the news portal t-online.
He said the next benchmark – 85 per cent capacity by October 1 – “is not impossible but certainly very ambitious”.
“We’re missing an average level of 95 percent through November 1 in all of our forecasts,” he added.
“That’s hardly achievable because some storage started at a very low level.”
Economics Minister Robert Habeck warned of looming shortages and last month outlined a series of targets for gas supplies to reach 95 percent by November 1 ahead of the cold German winter.
Gas reserves were then at about 65 percent of capacity, and Germany reached 75 percent two weeks ahead of schedule this past weekend.
However, Müller warned the citizens of Europe’s economic elite that there was no alternative to saving energy.
“It’s not just about one winter, but at least two. And the second winter could be even tougher,” he said.
“We have to save a lot of fuel for at least another year. To be clear: there will be at least two stressful winters.”
He said shortages in the cold months of 2022-23 are “probable” in some regions.
“The bottlenecks will probably be temporary at first and could then stop or come back again and again,” warned Müller, saying that gas might have to be transported to the affected regions of the country.
Germany is heavily dependent on Russian gas and has seen supplies fall sharply amid tensions over the Ukraine war.
Gas flows fell to 20 percent of capacity on the key Nord Stream pipeline in July as the EU accused Moscow of using energy as a “weapon” in the conflict.
Household energy bills will skyrocket this winter, while power outages are likely to stifle economic growth.
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