BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s economy minister said Sunday that the country will limit the use of gas for electricity production amid concerns about possible shortages caused by a reduction in supplies from Russia.
Germany has been trying to fill its gas storage facilities to capacity ahead of the winter months, when gas is more urgently needed as a heating fuel.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Germany will try to compensate for the move by increasing the burning of coal, a more polluting fossil fuel.
“That’s bitter, but it’s simply necessary in this situation to lower gas usage,” he said.
Officials in Russian gas-addicted state Germany appear to be starting to sweat as the Kremlin turns down its supply to the country over what it describes as technical issues. https://t.co/DcTOC84YNt
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 16, 2022
While the situation on the gas markets has become more acute in recent days, storage facilities are still able to make up the shortfall from Russia with purchases from elsewhere.
Still, Habeck said the situation was serious.
Russian gas company Gazprom announced last week that it was reducing supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for technical reasons.
Habeck said he believed the move was politically motivated.
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