Austria’s gas storage facilities are currently very well filled with 73 terawatt hours (TWh). At the beginning of next winter they are likely to be almost full with up to 97 TWh. The comfortable situation is due to the mild winter, the recession and high electricity production from hydropower.
“The gas supply for next winter is secured,” said Bernhard Painz, board member of the market and network manager AGGM (Austrian Gas Grid Management), at a press conference on Friday in Linz. But that is not a cushion for peace, explained Painz and Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce President Doris Hummer.
On the contrary, Hummer warned of a “new energy price shock.” The reason: Russia’s gas transit contract with Ukraine expires at the end of this year. There are currently no signs that this will change. Last year, Austria still received around two thirds of the gas it imported from Russia. Politicians must “negotiate intensively and not wait until the last moment.” But we’re not hearing anything from the federal government regarding this, says Hummer. She fears that the “markets will go crazy once more.”
Gas is no longer as enormously expensive in Europe as it will be in 2022, but it is still 50 percent more expensive than the long-term average and five times more expensive than in the USA. A new import strategy and an expansion of capacities are needed to import gas from Germany and Italy, demanded Hummer and Erich Frommwald, chairman of the industrial division.
Germany should be sued
Painz called for the “rapid implementation” of the expansion of the gas pipeline in the Mühlviertel (WAG) following the government gave the green light for financing following a long tug of war.
Hummer is also urging the federal government to initiate infringement proceedings once morest Germany – because of the German gas storage levy, which makes exports to Austria more expensive.
Frommwald calls for “more national natural gas production.” This is important financially, strategically and climate policy. The approval of such projects should be examined objectively and quick decisions are needed.
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Author
Alexander Zens
Economics editor
Alexander Zens
