People have been urged to check and adjust their gas boilers and radiators to maximize efficiency within the next 12 weeks, before the cold weather arrives. Klaus Mueller, head of Germany’s energy regulator, said this maintenance could reduce gas consumption by up to 15% – potentially leading to significant savings. Mr Mueller said families should start talking now about “whether every room needs to be set to its normal temperature in the winter or whether some rooms can be a bit colder”. Analysis: Germany may have to make do with gas after Russia’s ‘economic attack’ Image: German protesters call for ‘killing Russian oil and gas’ over Ukraine war Germany is heavily dependent on Russia for its energy imports, with 55% of its natural gas, 50% of its coal and 30% of its oil coming from the country. Russia’s state gas company Gazprom announced in June that there would be a 60% reduction in gas flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. At the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reductions in supply were not premeditated but related to maintenance issues. Critics claim this is untrue and that the cuts are aimed at Moscow to pressure Europe into resisting its invasion of Ukraine. Gazprom claimed that equipment it had refurbished in Canada was stuck there because of Western sanctions. Robert Habeck, who is Germany’s vice chancellor as well as the country’s economy and climate minister, has warned that a “blockage” of the pipeline is likely starting on July 11, as routine maintenance work is due to begin on that date. Typically these maintenance works have caused Nord Stream 1 flows to be interrupted for around 10 days, but Mr Habeck questioned whether the next period could last even longer for political reasons. If the flow of natural gas from Russia “declines for a longer period of time, we will have to talk more seriously about saving,” Mr. Mueller said, warning that Germany may not be likely to meet its gas storage targets. If the gas supply from Russia is cut off completely, then there would be special protection measures for private households, hospitals and nursing homes, he said. “I can promise that we will do everything we can to avoid private households without gas,” he said, adding: “We have learned from the coronavirus crisis that we should not make promises if we are not absolutely sure we can keep them. .” He said his agency “does not see a scenario in which there is no longer any natural gas in Germany.” Also on Saturday, German chemicals and consumer goods company Henkel said it was considering encouraging its employees to work from home in the winter in response to a potential supply shortage. “We could then greatly reduce the temperature in the offices, while our employees could heat their homes to a normal degree,” Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel told the Rheinische Post daily.
