The Government thus reacts to the decision of the Russian giant Gazprom to reduce gas deliveries through the Nord Stream gas pipeline
“It is bitter, but it is essential to reduce gas consumption.” With these words, the German government announced this Sunday its decision to resort to coal, a fuel that it had promised to abandon before 2030, to face the risk of a lack of energy supply due to the cuts adopted by Russia. The announcement was made by the Minister of the Economy, the ecologist Robert Habeck, in a statement in which he anticipated that a new law in this sense would be enacted before the summer. “To reduce gas consumption, you have to use less to produce electricity. Instead, more coal-fired power plants should be used,” he declared.
Germany thus reacts to the decision of the Russian giant Gazprom to reduce gas deliveries through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, in the context of the energy pulse between Western countries and Moscow. The company cut the flow by 40% alleging a technical problem. For the Executive led by Olaf Scholz, it is a “political decision” of Russia. “We do not have to have illusions, we are facing a test of strength with Putin,” he warned.
The package of measures announced this Sunday will also establish as a priority the replenishment, before winter, of gas stores. Reserves currently stand at 56%, a level “higher than the average of recent years.”
Faced with the urgency of the situation, the German government also wants to emphasize energy saving. The minister last week raised initiatives such as the imposition of a limit for domestic heating. But Scholz spoke out against discussing “individual measures” without a firm plan.
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