, Germany made a "fancy move".
According to Deutsche Welle, on July 2, local time, Muller, director of the Federal Network Agency of Germany's energy regulator, said that natural gas supply from Russia may completely stop, so reducing the use of natural gas is crucial.
To this end, Mueller called on the German people to save natural gas as much as possible. Previously, Germany has proposed shortening shower times and reintroducing the home office model to reduce energy consumption.
In fact, Germany is not the only one facing the risk of natural gas shortages. Many European countries are facing the same problem.
In order to reduce their dependence on Russian natural gas, many European countries are looking for natural gas suppliers other than Russia, and the United States is also on the list. However, Bloomberg reports pointed out that in view of the huge volume of Russian natural gas supply, although in June the European Union from the United States Natural gas imports surpassed Russia's for the first time, but Russia's total natural gas exports to Europe are still likely to surpass those of the United States.
Natural gas is the only energy source currently facing the risk of shortage in Germany.
Deutsche Welle reported that Muller emphasized that Germany should discuss more seriously ways to reduce the use of natural gas and called on the public to prepare three months before the start of the heating season. .
At the same time, he also called on all owners to quickly inspect and maintain the heating equipment of their houses. "Maintenance can reduce gas consumption by 10% to 15%. We must act now instead of waiting until autumn." But he also pointed out, Germany does not face a shortage of electricity and has sufficient supplies of fuel and oil. Natural gas is the only energy source currently at risk of shortages.
Mueller is not the only German official to propose reducing the use of natural gas.
According to a report by In order to prevent the negative impact of natural gas shortages from escalating, the German government has recommended that relevant companies, especially operators of critical infrastructure, purchase emergency generators. Some German companies have announced that they will reintroduce the home office model to save energy consumption in the office.
On June 23, 2022 local time, in Berlin, Germany, German Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Habeck issued a statement announcing that Germany would launch the second level of alert of the natural gas emergency plan. Picture/IC photo
Habeck also suggested that German people shorten their shower time to save energy. According to calculations by the Consumer Center, almost two-thirds of Germans shower at least once a day, with an average shower time of 8 to 12 minutes, and about 20% of heating energy is used for hot water. Rohe, head of the energy efficiency group, said that the annual cost of showering per person in Germany is about 100 euros. "If we shorten the shower time, we will reduce energy consumption accordingly. For example, taking a 5-minute shower instead of 7 minutes can reduce about 30 euros." % of energy consumption."
In addition, Jans Kerstein, the environment minister of the northern German city of Hamburg, also expressed concerns about natural gas shortages, saying that he would not rule out restricting the supply of hot water to private households in emergencies. In the event of a shortage, hot water will only be available at certain times of the day."
The European Union’s natural gas imports from the United States exceeded those of Russia for the first time.
Germany is trying every means to deal with the risk of natural gas shortages, which is a microcosm of the response of many European countries to the reduction of Russian gas supply.
Recently, affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in order to counter sanctions from Western countries, Russia significantly reduced the amount of natural gas transported to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline in June. Russia will also suspend natural gas supplies to several European countries in mid-July for technical reasons. Previously, Russia had stopped natural gas supplies to several European countries, including the Netherlands, Finland, and Poland.
As Russia’s natural gas exports to many European countries gradually decrease, many European countries, including Germany, are trying to ensure the normal supply of their own natural gas.
Russia is an important natural gas supplier to Europe.Data provided by Bloomberg show that Russia transports about 150 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe through pipelines every year. In addition, it also exports 14 billion cubic meters to 18 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas , accounting for more than 40% of the total natural gas imports in the European continent.
Under normal circumstances, the natural gas exported from Russia to Europe is used to generate electricity, assist industrial development, and heat many European homes in winter. The reduction of Russian gas supply means that people's lives and industries in many European countries will be affected.
However, in order to reduce their dependence on Russian natural gas supply, many European countries are looking for natural gas suppliers other than Russia to fill the energy gap caused by the reduction of Russian gas supply.
On March 25, 2022 local time, in Brussels, Belgium, US President Biden and European Commission President von der Leyen announced the establishment of a task force to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Picture/IC photo
The United States is on the list of European countries that can replace Russian natural gas imports. In March this year, the EU decided to purchase an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas from the United States to reduce imports of Russian natural gas, and expressed its hope to replace one-third of Russian natural gas imports with liquefied natural gas from various sources.
html The latest data released by the International Energy Agency on June 30 showed that the EU’s liquefied natural gas imports from the United States exceeded pipeline natural gas imports from Russia for the first time in June.Even so, Bloomberg reports that this data cannot yet explain anything. Considering that the volume of Russian natural gas exported to Europe is very large, the total amount of Russian natural gas exported to Europe may still exceed that of the United States.
Bloomberg quoted data from British Petroleum Company (BPPlc) World Energy Annual Statistical Review as saying that in 2021 Russia was Europe’s third-largest LNG supplier after the United States and Qatar , and Russia’s LNG is still flowing. It is continuously exported to European countries other than the United Kingdom. Although the pipeline natural gas transported to Europe has decreased, the supply of liquefied natural gas and pipeline natural gas is superimposed. In the future, the total amount of natural gas transported by Russia to Europe may still exceed that of the United States.
Beijing News reporter Zhu Yuehong
editor Liu Qianxian proofreader Wu Xingfa
