– by Andreas Rinke
Berlin (Reuters) – In order to secure Germany’s energy supply in winter too, the federal and state governments are expanding their emergency plans.
The economics and transport ministries submitted an ordinance that may give priority to the transport of important goods for the energy supply by rail. Saxony-Anhalt’s Economics Minister Sven Schulze demands that the federal states have a say in the distribution of gas. Meanwhile, the gas storage facilities, which are an important reserve in the event of a possible disruption in gas supplies from Russia, are filling up. On Monday it is to be announced how high the gas levy should be, which is intended to relieve gas importers.
According to the head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, the gas storage facilities were 75.43 percent full on Friday – well ahead of the target date of September 1st. According to legal requirements, the storage tanks must be 85 percent full from October and 95 percent full by November 1st. The filling of the storage facility is a building block to ensure that the gas flow does not dry up in Germany in the winter when Russian deliveries are further reduced or completely canceled. Other factors include gas deliveries from other countries, for example via LNG terminals, and savings in gas consumption of 15 to 20 percent. The state government of Saxony-Anhalt is planning a crisis summit with companies on Tuesday. The federal government also wants to present austerity measures on Tuesday.
SAXONY-ANHALT STRESSES PARTICIPATION ON GAS DISTRIBUTION
State Economics Minister Schulze spoke of a false sense of security when it came to filling the gas storage facilities in a Reuters interview: “If Putin turns off the tap completely or the winter gets colder, this won’t be enough.” The federal government has not answered the central question: “Where will the gas come from in autumn and winter when Russia turns off the tap?” This is much more important than the question of the gas levy and the filling of the gas storage facility. So far, nothing has come of supply contracts with gas exporters like Qatar. “My biggest concern is that the federal government will not be able to ensure sufficient supplies.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Norway on Monday, one of Germany’s main gas supplier countries.
Schulze called for the federal states to have a say in the distribution of fuel in the event of a gas shortage in winter. “It cannot be that the federal government or the Federal Network Agency alone decides who will no longer get gas in a crisis,” said the CDU politician.
From the point of view of the transport and economic ministries, the persistent drought also threatens the security of supply. For the time being, coal and oil are to be used as a substitute for gas. Due to the low and further falling water levels, for example on the Rhine, there is a risk that deliveries to power plants and companies by water will fail. Therefore, a regulation should ensure priority transport by rail. This emerges from a paper from both ministries available to the Reuters news agency. “The aim is to ensure the operation of power plants, refineries, power grids and other vital operations,” it says. With the ordinance, preferred routes can be reserved for six months in future, for example for mineral oil and coal transports.
Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) justifies this with the low water. “This makes it more difficult to supply the necessary supplies of steam coal and mineral oil,” said Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). “In order to ensure security of supply, we therefore have to take unusual measures.”
HIGHLY AWAITED GAS ALLOWANCE
In the case of the gas surcharge, Saxony-Anhalt’s Economics Minister Schulze, like Chancellor Scholz before him, advocated the lowest possible value. “The lower it is, the better,” said Schulze. The gas surcharge should be between 1.5 and five cents per kilowatt hour. It is intended to stabilize gas importers who have gotten into difficulties, take effect from October 1st and end on April 1st, 2024.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) meanwhile asked the EU Commission to be able to waive value added tax in the gas levy. In a letter to EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, he announced that Germany would submit a corresponding application. “VAT on government-imposed levies is driving prices up and facing increasing popular resistance, especially now in the extraordinary situation,” it said. Lindner and Habeck had spoken out in favor of not charging VAT on the gas surcharge.
(Assistance: Christian Krämer; edited by Hans Busemann. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected] (for politics and the economy) or [email protected] (for companies and markets).)
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