BERLIN — Germany will restart coal-fired power plants to conserve natural gas, the economy minister announced Sunday amid concerns about an impending supply shortage after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe this week.
The move was part of a series of measures, including new incentives for companies to burn less natural gas, announced by Germany as Europe takes steps to address reduced energy supplies from Russia.
Since European countries imposed sanctions to punish Moscow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Russia has responded by cutting off gas supplies to several European countries. Last week, Russian energy giant Gazprom also cut flows through the Nord Stream pipeline, a major submarine link that transports gas directly to Germany.
Gazprom blamed the cuts on maintenance issues, but European leaders have called the move a political tactic by President Vladimir. V. Putin of Russia.
“The situation is serious,” Robert Habeck, the economy minister who is also Germany’s vice chancellor, said in a statement on Sunday, outlining the steps that will be taken to ensure more gas is available. to lead to storage, so that the land enough to get through the winter. They include the online return of coal-fired power plants set up to reduce carbon emissions, although the statement did not specify how many plants would be affected.
“That’s bitter, but in this situation it’s just necessary to reduce gas consumption,” said Mr Habeck, a member of the environmentalist Greens. “The gas storage tanks should be full by the winter. That is our top priority.”
Germany has been heavily dependent on energy imports from Russia for decades. Last year, Russian imports accounted for 55 percent of the country’s natural gas supply. But after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 by Moscow, Berlin began buying gas from Norway, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, reducing its purchases from Russia by about 20 percent.
The government has nevertheless insisted that Russian gas will be needed to ensure storage tanks are at least 90 percent full by November — in line with a law passed earlier this year to ensure sufficient natural gas, which is largely used for heating and production. † A third of homes in Germany are heated with natural gas, while it is used for only about 15 percent of all electricity generation.
A law allowing for a return to using coal for power generation is expected to be passed next month. By the end of the summer, there should be a model that will allow companies to auction gas as part of efforts to encourage Germany’s industrial sector to become less dependent on the fuel.
Last week, Germany’s powerful industrial lobby, the Federation of German Industry, said companies are already switching to coal as part of efforts to make more natural gas available for storage. Many have also been looking for alternative, more sustainable energy sources, it said, stressing that such transitions take time.
The German government recently called on citizens to reduce their energy consumption in light of the tight supply situation.
“Clearly Putin’s strategy is to make us insecure, drive prices up and divide us,” said Mr Habeck. “We won’t let that happen. We will defend ourselves resolutely, precisely and thoughtfully.”