The head of the Federal Agency for Networks in Germany, Klaus Müller, did not show a desire to clearly express the energy situation in his country following the war in Ukraine, despite the current abundance of reserves and the much lower gas prices compared to the prices witnessed by this substance in the first months of the Russian invasion.
Perhaps the relatively mild weather that dominated the atmosphere in Germany for most of the days of the current winter has helped this country dispense with the natural gas supplied by Russia, which, following its invasion of Ukraine, stopped exporting gas to many European countries, which raised concerns throughout the past summer. From power outages and depletion of thermal energy sources for homes and utilities in the winter.
However, the head of the Federal Agency for Networks in Germany, Klaus Müller, did not show a desire to clearly express the energy situation in his country following the war in Ukraine, despite the current abundance of reserves and the much lower gas prices compared to the prices witnessed by this substance in the first months of the Russian invasion.
It is noteworthy that Germany used to import half of its natural gas and a third of its oil from Russia, but Moscow cut off gas supplies to Berlin last August, while Germany stopped importing Russian oil at the beginning of this year, and in the context of its relentless efforts to obtain On alternative sources of energy, Germany has resumed work on coal-fired power plants, postponed its plans to shut down its three remaining nuclear power plants, and expanded storage space for natural gas imported from countries such as Qatar, the United States, and Norway.
And Klaus Mueller indicates that the gas crisis and its repercussions have not ended, because the matter is fraught with anxiety, and perhaps dangers, especially if consumers and companies become bored with the habit of rationing that they adhered to throughout the winter.
Mueller believes that there are risks that may exacerbate the gas crisis, including the occurrence of an accident in one of the supply pipelines, or the exposure of the country or parts of it to a sudden frost wave that leads to a setback in plans to keep gas tanks full before the onset of next winter, and there is no doubt that Europe is currently training To live without the cheap Russian gas that has fueled their economies for decades.
Mueller, who did not express his “optimism” that this winter would pass in his country without the gas crisis escalating, although Germany reduced gas consumption by 14 percent in 2022, by reducing the work of thermostats and also by switching to other types of fuel. , as well as stopping industrial production that requires high amounts of energy.
Mueller says: “We hope that we will have a feeling of optimism that it will continue like this for four, five or six weeks, which is what is left of this winter, but our focus is already tight towards next winter, and we need to prepare everything to be able to cross the barrier Next winter. safely”.
Mueller, who expressed his satisfaction with the relatively mild winter weather, which reduced the consumption of gas used for heating in the country, says in a tone that is closer to realism than to pessimism. Mueller says, asking: “Will the next winter be mild?”, adding: “No one can to order it.”
It is worth noting that the rise in gas prices was the most important factor that pushed residents and companies to reduce consumption in order to reduce costs.
Although gas prices fell to less than 50 euros per megawatt-hour, after reaching 387 euros per megawatt-hour in August, they are still higher than the average gas price it was during the period between March March 2021 and March 2022, when the price of a megawatt hour was 18 euros.
