German Economy Minister Robert Habek said that in the future Russian gas supplies to Germany could be reduced.
And Bloomberg quotes the minister as saying: “Given the current situation, we should not rule out the possibility of Russia further reducing its supplies. We are preparing for all scenarios.”
He indicated that in the event of a reduction in gas supplies, the government could move to the second phase of the gas guarantee contingency plan, but the minister declined to indicate a possible date for such a step.
Notably, the German government began work on the first phase of this plan at the end of March amid Russia’s demand that Berlin pay for gas in Russian rubles. Then Germany began to prepare for a possible reduction in supplies.
The second phase of the plan sees energy companies allowed to shift the burden of rising prices to the private sector and homeowners, leading to higher energy bills for institutions and citizens.
In this context, the German newspaper Die Welt reported, citing some sources in the energy sector, that the German government intends to start the second stage of the emergency plan within 5-10 days.
Source: agencies