On Wednesday, the National Council passed further legislative resolutions to address the gas crisis linked to the Russian attack on Ukraine. With an amendment to the gas industry law, approved by all parliamentary groups except the NEOS, all storage facilities in Austria must be connected to the domestic pipeline network. “We will not be blackmailed by Russia and Gazprom in the way we make our free democratic decisions,” said Lukas Hammer, Green Party energy spokesman.
In the future, there will be access to unused storage capacities. The focus is on storage in Haidach in Salzburg.
Gazprom hasn’t stored gas since September
According to Hammer, Russia’s Gazprom has not stored any gas since the beginning of September 2021. “Leaving the Haidach gas storage empty was clearly Russia’s preparation for the war of aggression against Ukraine to put pressure on Europe and Austria. This clearly shows how vulnerable our reliance on fossil fuels from brutal autocracies has made us,” emphasized Hammer. With Wednesday’s accompanying decision, the coalition took another step “to put an end to this intolerable situation”.
Hammer concludes: “We can and will replace the gas with renewable energy sources.” You should not only get out of Russian natural gas, but in general, out of dependence on oil and gas.
Financial support for companies
With the gas diversification law, which only the government factions ÖVP and Greens approved, 100 million euros will be made available to companies in the years 2022 to 2025 to compensate for the extra costs of phasing out Russian natural gas. The aim is also to convert installations to alternative operation with other energy sources.
Gewessler: “This feat of strength will still challenge us all”
Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) also emphasized in the plenary that Russia’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy must disappear, because Russia uses the energy supply as a weapon. This is “not just another walk”, but a tour de force, “and this powerhouse will still be a big challenge for all of us”. With the two amendments to the law, dependency can be reduced step by step and the system can be made more resilient.
The goal remains to be independent from Russian natural gas by 2027. According to the minister, dependence will be reduced from 80 to 70 percent this year. The main coalition partner agreed. It is about security of supply for households and companies, emphasizes Tanja Graf (ÖVP).
Source: Krone
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