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Germany invoked an emergency energy plan on Wednesday and told its citizens to save power because of Russia’s threat to cut off gas supplies.
The early warning issued by Economy Minister Robert Habeck is the first of three potential alert levels and comes after Russia demanded payment in roubles for energy shipments to countries it deems unfriendly.
Mr Habeck described that demand, which was rejected by G7 members including Germany as a breach of contract, as an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to work around sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.
Although Germany is still receiving oil and gas deliveries, Russia is expected to press ahead with its currency switch this week and the Kremlin said on Tuesday that “nobody will supply gas for free”.
Mr Habeck said Russia’s statements prompted the emergency plans being triggered early on Wednesday, which will see a task force appointed in Berlin meeting daily to monitor the energy situation.
The panel will include delegates from Germany’s energy grid regulator, which has already held talks with businesses to prepare for potential shortages next winter if Russia turns off the tap.
But Mr Habeck told consumers that cutting their energy use in the shorter term could “help us, help Germany and help Ukraine”.
“In this situation, I have to say clearly that every kilowatt hour of energy that is saved helps,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Germany has previously relied on Russia for the majority of its gas imports and much of its coal and oil, a reliance described as a mistake by Mr Habeck and which his ministry is scrambling to cut down.
Two import terminals are planned to handle liquefied natural gas, for example from the US, and Germany is looking at renting floating LNG terminals in the Baltic and North Seas until permanent facilities are built.
However, plans drawn up by Mr Habeck’s officials do not envisage Germany being independent of Russian gas until the summer of 2024.
The potential energy crunch comes at a time when Germany is moving to phase out coal power and plans to switch off its last three nuclear reactors by the end of this year.
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A Ukrainian soldier fires his rifle from a trench at the front east of Kharkiv in the north of Ukraine, which continues to be shelled by Russian forces. AFP -
A gas station on fire in Kharkiv after Russian ttack on the northern city. AFP -
A medieval suit of armour 'stands guard' at a a Ukrainian checkpoint, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo -
Ukrainian refugees wait in line to cross the border into Poland at Shehyni. Reuters -
Destroyed Russian armoured vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo -
A resident passes apartment buildings destroyed by Russian attacks in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, standing, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the House of Representatives via video link at Parliament House in Canberra. Mr Zelenskyy appealed directly to Australian legislators for more help in the war against Russia, including armoured vehicles and tougher sanctions. AP -
Fire lights up the sky east of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP -
A destroyed Russian tank in the village of Lukianivka near Kyiv. AFP -
Passengers arriving from Moscow at Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyrzstan. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of former Soviet countries in Central Asia are facing difficult choices: shrinking work opportunities in Russia and wages in the weakened rouble versus a return to the homeland where they have family homes, but even fewer job prospects. AFP -
Fire and smoke light up the sky east of Kharkiv as Ukrainian forces push back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier shoots at the Russian positions not far from the capital Kyiv. EPA -
A car marked with the English letter 'Z' is found destroyed at the central Ukrainian train station that was used as a Russian base in Trostyanets. Ukrainian forces said they had retaken the north-eastern town from the Russians. Getty Images -
Rescue workers at the site of the regional administration building hit by Russian cruise missiles, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A dog looks at cars passing by on the road near a house painted with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo -
A soldier poses for the picture in Kyiv, Ukraine, while standing guard amid the destruction caused after shelling of a shopping center. AP Photo -
A Ukrainian serviceman stands near a destroyed Russian tank in the north-eastern city of Trostianets. AFP -
A worker pushes a cart past graves of Ukrainian soldiers who were killed in battle during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv. Reuters -
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damaged apartment buildings and homes in Mariupol. AP -
A resident takes photos of a destroyed Russian tank next to the railway station where the Russian forces were stationed, in Trostyanets, a town recaptured by the Ukrainian army. EPA -
A rescuer clears the rubble of a warehouse containing more than 50,000 tons of deep-frozen food in the town of Brovary, north of Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, after it was destroyed by Russian shelling. AFP -
A Ukrainian army vehicle carries a Russian tank in Trostyanets. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin during the funeral ceremony of a comrade in Odesa. EPA -
A man walks with his dog near an apartment building damaged by shelling from fighting on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo -
Members of the Danish Parliament attend the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky's speech to the Danish Parliament via a video link, at the Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. EPA -
A satellite image shows crowds outside a Metro grocery store in Mariupol. Reuters -
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opens Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul. President Erdogan told the delegations that "both parties have legitimate concerns." AFP -
Members of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps fire a howitzer at a position in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters -
Ukrainian refugees are helped by volunteers upon their arrival at Amsterdam Central station by train from Berlin. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured people carrier through the town of Trostsyanets, about 400 kilometres east of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Firefighters work amid the debris of residential houses that were destroyed by Russian shelling in a settlement outside Kharkiv. Reuters -
President Joe Biden said that he is not advocating for regime change in Moscow after saying Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power." AP Photo -
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse after it was hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. More than half of Kharkiv's 1.4 million people have fled the city since Russia's invasion on February 24. Getty Images -
Local residents pass by a destroyed Russian tank in the town of Trostyanets, east of capital Kyiv, Ukraine. The monument to the Second World War is seen in background. AP Photo -
A pro-Russian troop service member walks near a destroyed apartment building in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
Mykhaylo, 8, who was taken away from his widowed mother along with his 9-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister, plays with a ball in the garden of a state shelter in Lviv. Reuters -
Halyna Falko, 52, talks to reporters while looking at the destruction caused after a Russian attack inside her house near Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Curtains flutter in the wind at a building that was damaged by shelling in a neighbourhood that has been largely abandoned and left without water, gas and heating, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
People, mainly women and children, arrive at Przemysl on a train from Odesa in war-torn Ukraine in Przemysl, Poland. The Polish government has said it may spend €24 billion this year hosting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, and is seeking more support from the European Union. Getty Images -
A woman walks a dog past the so-called "people's installation to a Russian soldier" nicknamed the "polite people" created by residents in the backyard of their apartment building in the town of Podolsk, outside Moscow. AFP
Officials have ruled out postponing the nuclear switch-off on the grounds of practical difficulties such as fuel stocks being scheduled to be used up by December.
Mr Habeck said there was currently enough gas in the system and that Germany could live without Russian imports for the coming months, with the winter of 2022/23 regarded in Berlin as the potential flashpoint.
A worsening crisis could lead to the alert level being raised further to so-called alarm and emergency grades, in which the government could intervene directly in the energy market.
Leaders of the 27 European Union countries last week failed to agree a common approach to tackling an energy crisis in which prices were already soaring before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Germany opposes an immediate embargo on Russian fossil fuel imports for fear of worsening the economic fallout at home.
Russia’s demand for roubles is regarded in the West as a ploy to shore up a currency that has taken a battering since sanctions were imposed over Ukraine.
Most imports are currently paid for in euros and dollars, and any exchange in roubles might involve dealing with Russian banks cut off from the global market by western sanctions.
