Austria is currently still supplied with natural gas without interruption. But the danger of a total failure of Russia has increased considerably. That is why the federal government has put together a package of measures to strengthen the country’s resilience. This was presented after the Council of Ministers by Energy Secretary Leonore Gewessler and Finance Minister Magnus Brunner. In addition to the legally regulated strategic gas reserve, all storage facilities in Germany must also be connected to the domestic grid. Unused capacities must be surrendered. Gewessler also had an appeal ready for private customers: Every gas boiler that is exchanged for another form of heating “is a step towards independence”.
The target set for the coming heating season: Austria’s natural gas storage tanks must be at least 80 percent full. As part of a legislative amendment, a strategic gas reserve of 12.6 terawatt hours has already been created. That is the consumption during an average January, it says. The government can adjust the amount of storage by regulation. In a next step, according to Brunner, this reserve will be increased to 20 TWh – but not with Russian gas.
Storage facilities are obliged to offer or return unused capacities. So other companies should have access to it. The details are subject to regulation by E-Control. All gas storage facilities in Austria must be connected to the Austrian pipeline network. In the press foyer after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, particular attention was drawn to the Haidach storage site in Salzburg, where a subsidiary of Gazprom feeds natural gas. However, this redelivery has not been carried out for some time. The fill level is currently zero percent.
It is “no longer acceptable” that the Gazprom subsidiary does not stock GSA in Haidach, Gewessler said. “If Gazprom doesn’t save, others can access it too. That is absolutely justified.”
Source: Krone
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