Germany urged to save more gas or face shortages

Germany could run low on natural gas this winter, according to the boss of Bundesnetzagentur, the nation's energy supply agency, who said predictions that reserves were adequate may have been wrong.

Klaus Muller told the Tagesspiegel newspaper projections that suggested Germany would not run low on gas and would not, therefore, need to introduce rationing, were based on households and businesses cutting consumption by 20 percent.

"Currently, the total savings are only 13 percent," he told the paper. "If this remains an outlier, we need not worry yet. But it will remain cold in the next few days. With temperatures of-10 C, gas consumption shoots up dramatically."

Muller said the unusually cold weather has caused people to ramp up their thermostats, and for gas reserves to fall more quickly than expected.

The nation is grappling with finite supplies of gas because of a sharp fall in imports in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with major past supplier Russia sending less gas to Germany, and with Germany vowing to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels.

Additionally, damage to the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines beneath the Baltic Sea in September, through which much of Germany's gas from Russia was transported, make imports even less likely.

In order to ensure Germany had enough gas to last to the end of the winter, the nation stockpiled imports during the summer, and has urged consumers to cut consumption by 20 percent this winter.

The recent cold weather that has led to the spike in demand followed an unusually mild fall, during which the nation's consumption was very low and gas tanks remained close to 100 percent full. They are now about 95 percent full.

The nation, which used to get around half of its gas from Russia, is trying to create new sources of power to make up for the lost imports, and has begun massive renewable energy projects, and dusted off previously mothballed nuclear power stations.

Muller told the Tagesspiegel newspaper Germany is also sourcing natural gas from new suppliers.

"We are now getting gas from several sources," he said. "We are getting good deliveries from Norway, Holland, Belgium, and also via France."

Earlier, Muller told The Guardian newspaper Europe has no choice but to use less gas while new energy supplies take shape.

"I think it's important for governments to come clean with their citizens," he said. "Without a significant reduction in our gas use, we won't get through this winter without problems."

The European Union has made similar moves in its attempt to end reliance on fossil fuels imported from Russia and has urged citizens to reduce energy consumption by 15 percent.