“This is the promise I can make: we will not allow one company to go bankrupt and consequently let the global energy market go into turmoil,” the minister said in a phone interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday.
German industry and energy companies are on high alert as Russia cut supply through Nord Stream in mid-June and is expected to begin two weeks of routine maintenance on the main gas pipeline to Germany on July 11. Germany, Europe’s largest economy and other EU member states do not rule out the possibility that Russia will not resume natural gas flows through Nord Stream once the maintenance period ends or cut supplies further.
According to Habeck, the German and global energy markets could see “cascading effects” due to energy companies trying to buy very expensive natural gas on the spot market in order to compensate for low Russian supply.
In addition, there is now a distinct possibility that there will be no Russian supply sometime later this year. Gas suppliers and buyers in Germany are struggling with rising prices for non-Russian gas, which is putting a severe strain on their finances.
Last week, energy giant Uniper, one of Russia’s Gazprom’s biggest customers, said it had started talks with the German government about possible measures to stabilize its finances amid low Russian gas deliveries and soaring gas prices.
Germany is currently amending its energy security law to allow the government to participate in troubled energy companies or levy levies on consumers. The government is discussing amendments that could be tabled in Parliament as early as this week.
“With the new legislation, we will have different possibilities for action, but we will certainly act,” Habeck told Bloomberg.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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