German Undersecretary for the Economy, Patrick Graichen: energy savings and more reserves, but it takes time to make us independent from Russia
“The risk of a gas price cap is that the EU will not get the quantities of gas it needs,” said the German Undersecretary for the Economy, Patrick Graichen, criticizing the measure proposed by Italy.
Why does Germany disagree?
«We are skeptical because in the end the question is: can we still get gas at the price we want on the world market or does Russian gas end up elsewhere, rather than in Europe? The risk of the price cap is that Europe will not get the quantities of gas it needs and if this happens, what do we do? How do we share the gas that is not enough for everyone? “
How would Germany replace Russian oil if it passed the sixth sanctions package?
“We have already introduced a reduction in Russian oil because production sites in West Germany are now supplied with crude oil from other parts of the world. The challenge concerns East Germany, in particular the Schwedt refinery, supplied directly by the Druschba pipeline and managed by the Russian company Rosneft. A possible alternative to power Schwedt, from a technical point of view, would be the ports of Gdansk and Rostock. An intense exchange is underway with the Polish government on this ».
What is a possible compromise to avoid Hungary’s veto?
“The question is: how long does Hungary need to become independent of Russian oil and what support does it need. This is the central question to be resolved and it can also be the compromise point ”.
Is the problem political or technical?
«We should ask them, however the technical problem can be solved together. Then, perhaps, the political one can also be resolved ».
What is Germany doing to secure energy supply?
“We are working at full speed on the construction of two floating LNG terminals on the coast that will be connected to the grid by this winter, in Wilhelmshaven and possibly in Brunsbüttel. Then we are checking out two other sites – maybe Hamburg, Rostock or Stade (you can take it off). But we won’t be able to do it by winter. To build an infrastructure that allows us to completely renounce Russian gas, we need at least 2 years. This is why replacing Russian gas is more difficult than replacing oil ».
How to prevent the EU from competing on energy as in the beginning of the pandemic?
“Together we must expand common infrastructures and the EU Commission proposal, which provides for the creation of a common purchasing platform for LNG, is an interesting idea because it creates a purchasing community”.
What strategy is the German government following to protect consumers from rising energy prices?
«A double strategy: the enhancement of renewables in electricity production lowers electricity costs. This means that the faster we proceed with renewables, the more we contribute to lower prices. Furthermore, lightening measures are envisaged. From 1 July 2022 the levy on EEG energy costs is abolished. In addition, the government has decided on a one-off lump sum contribution for those who work of 300 euros for energy costs. While families will have a bonus of 100 euros per child. Added to this is a discount on petrol and a 9 euro pass on public transport for a limited time ».
Germany had a serious problem of gas reserves in the plants managed by Gazprom, where are you now?
“At the moment we are on average at 42% full of reserves. The storage facilities managed by Gazprom were almost empty, we have just started to fill them and now we are at 2%, while others are above 50%. Gazprom strategically emptied its plants last summer to put pressure on Europe; this applies not only to the locations in Germany, but also in Austria. Now that we have placed Gazprom Germany under the trusteeship of the Network Agency, we can do it ourselves. Our low level of reserves was an action planned by Russia in advance. Normally Gazprom has always put around 20% of its gas on short-term spot markets. It has stopped since October and this has resulted in a surge in energy prices in Europe. At the time, we wondered why this phenomenon occurred, then we realized that not only had they stopped putting the extra gas on the market, but they had completely emptied the storage facilities. Within a hundred days we should reach 90% of the storage tanks, so by winter ».
What are the main obstacles in enhancing renewables?
“The latest German governments have done too little in terms of territorial designation and speeding up procedures. We are recovering and we have started several things: more territory for the plants, fewer obstacles and this will now be anchored in a law. Probably this year we will not see a great expansion of wind power but we are preparing for the next few years ».
Is the problem of speeding up permissions solved? A problem that affects all of Europe
So far we have passed the Renewable Energy Law, which increases the targets and quantities of tenders, then we are working on a legislative procedure that includes more areas for wind energy, and we are working on a procedure to simplify and standardize permits. on conservation of the environment. If everything works out next year or the next, the procedures will be faster. At the moment, a major obstacle is the fact that the planning authorities, ie the regions or the Laender, have to allocate a certain amount of land for the construction of wind energy.
Does it make sense to think of new European energy transport infrastructures?
“If we now look to the future in a north-south direction, then we should immediately think of hydrogen, because this will become our climate-neutral gas plant in the second half of the 2020s. We do not need a new infrastructure for Europe. for fossil sources, rather we must immediately think about the future ».
Italy thinks as energy saving measures to lower the heating and raise the air conditioner. Is Germany considering similar measures?
Yes, we are thinking about it. The ministry will also present an energy saving campaign in early June to see how to save gas in Germany as quickly as possible. This will include measures similar to the Italian ones and others, which we are about to present and which will have to become the government’s line.
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