Priority households – gas emergency plan ready: what happens in case of emergency

Austria is currently still in the early warning phase. That was announced at the end of March when Russia threatened to accept payments in rubles only. As a result, a crisis team was set up at the time, gas flows have since been monitored around the clock and the government has decided on storage measures.

Germany is already one step further
These measures are currently sufficient, as our needs are being met. Germany has already declared the alert level and enough gas is still flowing to Austria to fill the storage facilities sufficiently (80 percent in the autumn). But if the reservoirs falter, we would soon reach the next level.

Alert Level: Emergency Preparedness
In the alarm phase, the final preparations for calamities are then made as soon as there are signals that supplies are being limited. Large consumers must then report their consumption to E-Control on a weekly basis. You will be asked to consume less and to replace gas.

Energy management as an extreme measure
If the situation then escalates to such an extent that our gas is no longer sufficient and Russia drastically reduces or stops the quantities, the third phase comes: “This emergency level is our plan for an absolute emergency. This is where the energy regulation comes into effect. This means that large companies have to reduce their gas consumption so that there is enough gas for households and hospitals or retirement homes,” says Gewessler. All companies are then obliged to participate in the auction and trading system for scarce natural gas (FlexMOL). biomass, etc.) becomes mandatory, the limit values ​​for polluting substances are suspended.

Less gas for large companies
A mandatory restriction would be the first to hit large consumers, many of whom would react to price signals anyway. These are companies that consume more than 50,000 kilowatt hours of natural gas per hour (!). By way of comparison: an average household consumes 15,000 kWh per year. However, systemically important companies, especially power generators, are excluded. “Because the gas crisis must not become an electricity crisis,” emphasizes Gewessler.

After that, medium-sized companies would also be required. However, the Ministry of Energy expects that the restriction of the 35 large-scale consumers will be sufficient to “don’t let anyone freeze in the winter”, according to the minister. There should be no austerity. In the cold season, total gas consumption is three times as high as it is now.