Austria has now set to work and has withdrawn the unused part of the gas storage facility in Haidach from the Russian state-owned company Gazprom. RAG Austria AG is responsible as technical manager of the system, the Ministry of Climate Protection announced on Tuesday. The company has already started to market the capabilities and applications from companies are ranked on a “first come, first served” basis. The filling should then start on August 1.
Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) announced this move a few days ago, with the aim of helping to meet Austria’s autumn storage targets.
Russians left the store empty
Due to the lack of storage in the Haidach warehouse by the Russian Gaszprom group, the government had passed a legal regulation according to which all warehouses in Austria must also be used. If a reservoir is not systematically filled, other companies should be allowed to store there. The associated procedure for the storage in Haidach based on the use-it-or-lose-it rule has now been completed by E-Control.
The Austrian RAG Austria AG, as technical manager of the storage facility in Haidach, has received a temporary sale order from the regulatory authority E-Control for part of the storage capacity in the storage facility in Haidach – accounting for approximately 14 terawatt hours of working gas volume. This task is performed by the subsidiary RAG Energy Storage GmbH. It is already taking all the necessary steps so that the commercialization of the capacities can start immediately.
“Insurance for the coming winter”
Gewessler said: “Full memory is our insurance for the coming winter. It is therefore of central importance that all storage facilities in Austria are also stocked.” Markus Mitteregger, head of RAG, agreed with the minister: “It is now becoming clear how fundamental energy storage is for a secure year-round energy supply in Austria and Central Europe. The high volume and seasonal storage in our underground storage facilities is an important element to ensure this today and tomorrow.”
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
