In the event of a gas shortage, the cabinet may be forced to cut off entire parts of the Netherlands from the network in the most extreme case. For the first time, the cabinet is taking the worst scenario into account, says Energy Minister Rob Jetten in an interview with the AD.
A crisis plan is ready in case of an acute shortage of natural gas. According to Jetten, that plan may be necessary if Russia turns off the gas tap. “In the most extreme scenarios, the crisis plan states that you can cut off entire areas from gas,” explains Jetten. “That can be a municipality, a province or an entire part of the country.”
In order not to let it come to that, the cabinet wants to become less dependent on Russian gas as soon as possible. The Netherlands is currently still 20 percent dependent on gas from that country. The minister wants to import more liquid gas from other countries and also build up larger gas reserves, so that there is enough gas even in a cold winter.
What do you think?
Are you afraid that Russia will turn off the gas tap and that there will be a gas shortage in the Netherlands, or do you think that things will not go so smoothly?