The AGSI database of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows a storage capacity of 99.4 GWh for Friday, July 1st. The filling level increased only slightly compared to the previous day from 45.12 to 45.20 percent. It is the second time within a few days that less than 100 GWh per day has been stored. On Tuesday it was only 70 GWh.

The aim of the turquoise-green government is to fill the storage tanks to 80 percent by the start of the heating season. In order to reach the target, more than 33,000 GWh still have to be stored. Because storage “decreased noticeably” last week, the government will discuss the situation on Tuesday.

Gewessler: situation “serious”

Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) described the situation on Saturday in the picture as “serious” and “tense”. It is still stored, “but the quantities have decreased,” says Gewessler. The development fluctuates from day to day.

“We have to base our decisions on solid data. We will have that after a week, so on Tuesday we in the federal government will also decide on the basis of this analysis what further steps may be necessary,” Gewessler continued.

FPÖ convenes National Security Council

The FPÖ convenes the National Security Council because of the below-expected storage rates for natural gas. A corresponding application will be made on Monday, announced party leader Herbert Kickl.

Gewessler’s “appeasing statements” about the current state of security of supply left more questions unanswered for the FPÖ than explained, Kickl justified the announced convening of the National Security Council. “The government’s ‘bumping around’ and secrecy is getting us nowhere,” he said.

NEOS energy spokeswoman Karin Doppelbauer criticized Gewessler’s waiting and said she would miss answers to urgent questions: “Who owns the gas that has already been stored? Where exactly is the gas supposed to come from for next winter? What rules apply to industry and commercial enterprises in the event of energy steering?” The government, above all the responsible Minister Gewessler, should “finally wake up from its hibernation”.

The largest amount flows into the OMV storage facility

OMV is currently filling the most gas in its storage facility in Lower Austria, in Tallesbrunn and Schönkirchen. Almost 63 of the almost 100 GWh on Friday flowed into these two gas storage facilities. According to AGSI, on the other hand, gas was taken from the Astora storage facility in Haidach. The storage facility of the Gazprom subsidiary GSA, which is also located in Haidach near Salzburg, is still empty.

The Haidach gas storage facility in Salzburg is currently only connected to the German, but not to the Austrian gas network, and plays a central role in Bavarian industry. Storage companies in Haidach are RAG AG and the Gazprom subsidiaries GSA and Astora.

The part of the storage facility that belongs to the Gazprom Germania subsidiary Astora will be filled because Gazprom Germania is under German state administration. In order to be able to fill that of GSA as well, Austria has changed the Gas Industry Act. Tyrol and Vorarlberg are also supplied with gas via Haidach and Germany, since these two federal states are not connected to the eastern market area, i.e. the gas network in eastern Austria.

Germany: warning of delivery stop

In Germany, meanwhile, there are warnings of a total failure of Russian gas supplies. The President of the German Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, appealed to the German population to save energy.

The question is whether the expected regular maintenance of the “Nord Stream 1” gas pipeline “will become a longer-lasting political maintenance,” said Müller. If the gas flow from Russia “is motivated to be lowered for a longer period of time, we will probably have to talk about savings”. The twelve weeks before the start of the heating season must be used to make preparations, says Müller.

German companies should buy emergency generators

The German government recommends companies to stock up on emergency generators because of the gas crisis. As the “Bild” newspaper reported, citing a response from Economics Secretary Patrick Graichen (Greens) to CSU member of the Bundestag Stephan Pilsinger, the aggregates are intended to compensate for possible power outages.

“Equipping with emergency generators is particularly recommended for operators of critical infrastructure,” wrote Graichen accordingly. The reason is that there is no “shutdown order” in the event of a crisis. “In the event of a shortage of gas or electricity”, the German Federal Network Agency takes over the function of the federal load distributor. “They are then responsible for the distribution of gas or electricity in close coordination with the network operators,” it said.

The city of Hamburg does not rule out the limitation of hot water for private households in the event of a gas supply stop. “In an acute gas shortage, warm water could only be made available at certain times of the day in an emergency,” said Environment Senator Jens Kerstan (Greens) of the “Welt am Sonntag”. A general reduction of the maximum room temperature in the district heating network could also be considered.

Switzerland warns of bottlenecks in winter

The Swiss government is also warning of a gas bottleneck in winter given falling Russian supplies. Although precautions have been taken as far as possible, Switzerland is not an island, Energy Minister Simonetta Sommaruga told the Sunday newspaper. “That’s why nobody can guarantee that there will always be enough gas for everyone,” she added. Around 300,000 households in Switzerland heat with gas.

Sommaruga is somewhat more relaxed about the electricity situation, because Switzerland, which relies heavily on hydropower, has good electricity production itself. But here, too, “nothing can be ruled out because the gas market is closely intertwined with the electricity market,” said the energy minister.

In the event of a shortage of both gas and electricity, energy in trade and industry should first be rationed. Restrictions are then “first probably for escalators or neon signs”. The Federal Council wants to “spare the budgets for the longest”.

Strike threatens in Norway’s gas industry

Amid worries about Europe’s gas supply, a strike planned for the new week could significantly reduce the likelihood of Norway’s oil and gas industry producing gas. The union had announced that a strike would start on Tuesday in the event that the employers did not respond to their wage demands.